MPs from the factions of the CDU / CSU parties have proposed collecting a fee for each delivered package containing goods purchased on the Internet in order to support stores located in cities and suffering colossal losses as a result of the closure due to the pandemic.
This tax must be collected from online stores and passed to the tax authorities. This proposal was made by the member of the Bundestag Christian Haase and the vice-president of the parliamentary group Andreas Jung, reports dpa. Whether goods ordered on the Internet will become more expensive depends on online stores. The amount of tax should depend on the value of the order.
Members of the German Trade Union (HDE) consider the introduction of this tax unlawful. One of the basic rules of international online trading is fair competition. “There is no need for new taxes for this. It is important that the established rules of protection are observed, as well as compliance with the payment of taxes in case of delivery of goods from the Far East. ” “The package tax will also hit the many online retailers that are compliant.” Moreover, it would be a real disservice for stores that have created online stores and thus serve customers.
FDP members have already dubbed the package tax “another bureaucratic monster.” Michael Theurer, a Bundestag member from the FDP, believes that it is much more important to give trade “a clear and reliable perspective of work in the coming year.” Achim Post, vice-president of the parliamentary group of the SPD, believes that the CDU / CSU proposal is correct. “A coronavirus tax levied on online giants like Amazon can be a powerful tool to re-create justice in times of crisis and support merchants in cities.” Due to the corona pandemic and the measures introduced to combat it, online trading has grown very strong.
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