Restaurants Are Barely Passing On the Reduced VAT Rate:
In January, the VAT rate on food in restaurants was reduced. A new survey shows that the vast majority of ...
tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/verbraucher/gastronomie-steuersenkung-preise-gaeste-100.html
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Most German restaurants kept prices unchanged after tax cutSince January, restaurant meals in Germany have been taxed at 7% instead of 19%.
Key FactsAug 8, 2026 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: tagesschau.de
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: tagesschau.de
- At the start of the year, the German government cut the value-added tax on restaurant food from 19% to 7%.
- DEHOGA surveyed around 2,000 food-service businesses, of which 73.4% kept their prices stable; the association gave no details on the remaining group.
- According to the Federal Statistical Office, average prices for main dishes rose at the beginning of the year, while DEHOGA said the reduced rate had helped limit increases.
- Hagen restaurateur Mike Henning cut the price of every main dish by one euro in January and reported up to 30% higher turnover than in the previous year.
The most expensive thing in the restaurant business is labor costs.— Mike Henning, restaurant owner from Hagen, explaining the cost structure in the gastronomy sector.
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