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Kaffeesteuer

Kaffeesteuer is a tax on coffee in Germany.  The tax is included in the price of coffee that is bought in German shops.

The tax originally started in Prussia, but was confirmed in its current form before the formation of the Federal Republic in 1948 in is even mentioned in the German basic law (Grundgesetz).

This causes problems for people who buy their coffee outside of Germany, for example in Dutch supermarkets or by mail order.  Theoretically they should declare the coffee and pay the tax, and failure to do so can cause the tax office to investigate the non-payment.

Whilst the mail-order situation may be clear, buying the coffee for one’s own personal use and bringing it back to Germany causes a conflict between various German tax and custom laws, not to mention EU laws.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

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4 Responses to “Kaffeesteuer”

  1. computius.de» Blogarchiv » Philips ruft Senseo-Kaffeemaschinen zurĂĽck Says:

    […] Sie Senseo®? Das sind die Kaffee-Pad-Geräte von Philips, mit der man einfach ein oder zwei Tassen Kaffee zubereiten […]

  2. computius.de» Blogarchiv » Die Senseo Verpackung ist da Says:

    […] Filterkaffee  ist auch dabei.  Das finde ich eine Super Geste von Philips, vor allem weil es holländischer Kaffee der Marke “Douwe Egberts” […]

  3. The Monday Podcast » Blog Archive » A day in Venlo Says:

    […] many people go over the border to shop, as some things are considerably cheaper on the Dutch side, coffee being the prime example of […]

  4. AllThingsGerman.net» Blog Archive » A day in Venlo Says:

    […] many people go over the border to shop, as some things are considerably cheaper on the Dutch side, coffee being the prime example of […]


 

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