A plastic tax would "pour gasoline on a fire," criticized trade association chief Rainer Will on Tuesday in a statement. Shortly thereafter, the Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) also warned of increased price pressure. Greenpeace defends the plastic levy.

Important Raw Materials

Oil and gas are important raw materials for plastic production. Accordingly, the rising oil and gas prices as a result of the Iran war are likely to have a direct impact on the costs of plastic packaging. "A new tax on packaging at the very moment when raw material prices are shooting up double digits would further fuel inflation instead of combating it," said Will.

The plastic tax is intended to partially offset the planned VAT reduction on staple foods from July. "While price relief for people in Austria is being sought elsewhere, a new tax threatens to completely counteract these effects," criticized WKÖ Secretary General Jochen Danninger. The trade association also fears that a plastic tax could "largely negate" the price-reducing effects of the planned VAT reduction.

The trade association also criticizes that "according to the plans known so far," PET bottles subject to the deposit system are also affected by the plastic tax. Packaging with "verifiable recyclability" should not be taxed as "non-recyclable" at the same time. However, there is currently no public draft of the plastic tax law, as confirmed by a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ) to the APA. A draft is currently under negotiation. A possible taxation of plastic deposit bottles has so far only been reported in the media.

The environmental organization Greenpeace issued a statement defending the planned tax. It is necessary "to make the true costs of single-use plastic visible," says Madeleine Drescher, consumer expert at Greenpeace Austria, who also wants to include single-use deposit bottles. "They may be collected, but they remain single-use products with high material and energy consumption. Anyone who takes the circular economy seriously must make reusable the standard."

Two Measures

When announcing the planned VAT reduction for staple foods to just under five percent in January, the governing coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS also announced that the reduction would be offset by two measures. In addition to the mentioned plastic levy, there will also be a "package levy for third-country packages to protect stationary trade," as stated in the ministerial council protocols at the time.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article .