Overview

• Bavaria's state cabinet has officially banned cities and municipalities from introducing packaging taxes, overriding recent interest from local governments.
• The Bavarian Interior Ministry confirmed it will reject any applications for packaging tax implementation, halting measures like Starnberg's recent proposal.
• The Federal Constitutional Court ruled in January 2025 that packaging taxes are legally permissible, spurring interest from over 120 municipalities nationwide.
• Starnberg’s city council had voted 18–7 to explore a packaging tax, projecting annual net revenue of €217,000, but the state ban nullifies this effort.
• Critics of packaging taxes argue they impose high administrative costs and contradict efforts to reduce bureaucracy, while proponents advocate for waste reduction and environmental impact.