Parliamentary group leader Beißwenger calls for immediate halt to the audit – support for the Chamber of Commerce’s position
The FDP parliamentary group in Darmstadt strongly opposes the introduction of a municipal packaging tax. It thus supports the clear position of the Darmstadt Rhein Main Neckar Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which clearly opposed such a levy at its general assembly.
“The packaging tax is a prime example of well-intentioned but poorly executed measures: It creates bureaucracy but does not solve the waste problem,” explained Sven Beißwenger, parliamentary group leader and financial policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group.
Criticism of costs and effects
According to Beißwenger, the city council's responses to a parliamentary question from his parliamentary group clearly show: There are no reliable figures on ecological effects, but there are concrete indications of high administrative costs, additional personnel requirements and bureaucratic burdens for companies.
A look at Tübingen, where the tax has already been introduced, underscores the skepticism: disposable waste has barely decreased there. At the same time, there is a risk of competitive disadvantages for local businesses and a patchwork of different regulations.
“If the benefit remains hypothetical, but the cost is concrete and high, the packaging tax is not only economically questionable, but also politically untenable,” says Beißwenger.
FDP calls for alternatives to taxes
The Liberals are calling on the city council to immediately end the ongoing review of the tax. Instead of imposing new burdens, the city should focus on a strategic overall concept for waste prevention – for example, through:
- targeted measures against littering in parks,
- an evaluation of existing initiatives,
- the examination of innovative fee models (“pay as you throw”),
- and the promotion of reusable offers.
“We need less bureaucracy, not more – and certainly not isolated solutions that weaken our local economy,” Beißwenger concluded.
(Darmstadt - Red/FDP)
