Excise

A consumption tax is a tax that burdens the consumption of certain goods to a control. Usually these are goods that were in the time of the introduction of the respective control as luxury goods. The tax burden should bear the consumer. The cost taxes are excise duties in the operational product costing and be passed on to consumers. A special feature is that of the excise tax may be levied in turn (eg 10 € 20 € gasoline energy tax 19 % VAT from 30 € = 35,70 € ).

Types of consumption taxes

The oldest excise duty on German soil appears to have been the salt tax, which was raised already in the Frankish Empire ( now abolished as part of the harmonization of excise taxes in the EC). Younger consumption taxes are the coffee tax, the gas tax as part of the fuel tax, the electricity tax and the alcopops Expensive.

In general, a distinction between the special consumption taxes, which are levied by the federal government and local consumption taxes, which are levied by the states.

The following excise duties are applied in the Federal Republic of Germany (without the territory of Büsingen and without the island Helgoland):

• Energy Tax
• Flow control
• Nuclear fuel tax
• Intermediate product control
• Tobacco tax
• Coffee tax
• Beer Tax
• Liquor tax
• Sparkling wine tax
• Alcopops Expensive ( since 2004)

Discontinued consumption taxes: tax on salt, sugar control, Zündwarensteuer ( Zündwarenmonopol ), Lamp control, tax on tea, playing cards control, acetic acid control

Legislative and earnings skills

The legislative competence on excise duties is under the Basic Law for the Federal Government, if he does Proceeds of the tax wholly or partly attributable to (so-called yield competence, Article 106 Section 1 No. 2 of the Basic Law ). This applies to the special consumption tax to above. An exception is the beer tax (Article 106 Section 2 No. 4 of the Constitution ), the revenue is to the respective countries. In this scheme the state of Bavaria has passed in the creation of the Basic Law. In the beer tax, the federal government has the legislative competence therefore merely because the maintenance of legal and economic unity in the national interest so requires. The collection and management of specific statutory federal excise duties carried out by the Federal Customs Administration.

The local consumption taxes are in the legislative competence of the countries, their income available to the community and possibly the local authority unions (Art. 106 para 6 of the Basic Law ).

The sales stands by a ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court in the intersection between consumption and transport taxes. After its economic effects, it is a consumption tax, according to the law, however, a technical design of traffic control. It is, except for the import turnover tax, levied by the country's tax authorities.

The so-called eco-tax is a legislative standpoint, no excise duty, not even its own control. The term eco-tax represents taxes on goods such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc., whose consumption pollutes the environment. With the "Law for the entry of the ecological tax reform " the current tax was introduced and made ​​changes in the mineral oil with laws technically relevant to the ecology.

Tax breaks

In all excise tax laws tax incentives ( tax reductions or exemption ) are provided. Thus, beer and spirits are exempt from tax if they are used for specific purposes ( eg production of vinegar or drugs ). Mineral oil is exempt from tax if it is not used as fuel or heating fuel (eg use as a lubricant ), also for use in commercial aviation. The tax exemption for used in commercial aviation oil is criticized on environmental grounds.

Collection procedures

The imposition of excise duty is not directly a matter of convenience to the consumer instead. Rather, the excise duty the manufacturer or the trade are levied. Because this form of the survey include the excise taxes to indirect taxes.

Trade with other countries of the European Community

In commercial traffic, the destination principle applies, ie, the goods will be taxed in the country of consumption on imports. In travel, however, is considered the country of origin principle. The goods, which acquires a traveler for his own use and transported himself, subject in the Member State of tax and will not be taxed in the Member State of destination. To avoid double taxation, the consumption tax is refunded when the goods are consumed in other Member States already in the tax area -paid goods.

Beneficiaries of individual consumption taxes

The emergence of the individual consumption tax flows different levels of government (see Article 106 of the Basic Law ):

• Beverage tax

Expenditure taxes are:

• Dog license fee
• Entertainment tax
• Secondary residence tax or second home tax