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Parliamentary group leader Beißwenger demands an immediate halt to the audit – support for the Chamber of Industry and Commerce's position
The FDP parliamentary group in Darmstadt strongly rejects the introduction of a municipal packaging tax. It thus supports the clear position of the Darmstadt Rhine-Main-Neckar Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which explicitly opposed such a levy at its general assembly.
“The packaging tax is a prime example of well-intentioned but poorly executed: it creates bureaucracy but does not solve the waste problem,” explained Sven Beißwenger, parliamentary group chairman and financial policy spokesperson of the FDP parliamentary group.
Criticism of costs and impact
According to Beißwenger, the answers from the city council to a parliamentary inquiry from his faction clearly show: There are no reliable figures on ecological effects, but concrete indications of high administrative costs, additional staffing needs and bureaucratic burdens for companies.
A look at Tübingen, where the tax has already been introduced, underscores the skepticism: Single-use waste has hardly decreased there. At the same time, competitive disadvantages for local businesses and a patchwork of different regulations are looming.
“If the benefit remains hypothetical, but the effort is concrete and high, the packaging tax is not only economically questionable, but also politically unacceptable,” said Beißwenger.
FDP calls for alternatives to the tax
The Liberals are calling on the city council to immediately end the ongoing review of the tax's introduction. Instead of imposing new burdens, the city should focus on a comprehensive strategic plan for waste reduction – for example, through:
- targeted measures against littering in parks,
- an evaluation of existing initiatives,
- the examination of innovative fee models (“pay as you throw”),
- as well as the promotion of reusable products.
“We need less bureaucracy, not more – and certainly not isolated solutions that weaken our local economy,” Beißwenger concluded.
(DARMSTADT – RED/FDP)
