Deutsche Post: Federal government wants to abolish postal tax benefits
The Federal Government plans to end a tax advantage for Deutsche Post. This emerges from a draft law from the Federal Ministry of Economics. According to this, the postal service will in future have to pay sales tax for company mail that it receives and forwards from other companies. As a so-called universal service provider, the post office has so far been exempt from sales tax. That should change in this area.
As a universal service provider, the post office has to deliver letters and parcels and maintain mailboxes and branches throughout Germany. Smaller competitors are not obliged to do this. According to the draft law, the federal government could receive 115 million euros in additional revenue per year from the post office as a result of the new regulations. The draft is available to the dpa news agency.
Walther Otremba from the Federal Association of Letter Services, which represents the interests of postal competitors, estimates the sum to be even higher. The tax advantage amounts to half a billion euros per year, he said. The association has long considered it unfair that the postal service is being controlled by the
Sales tax is exempt and the competitors are not.
Ampel planned tax relief for everyone
The traffic light coalition had therefore planned to exempt all companies from the tax – including postal competitors. However, the project remained unfinished when the traffic light broke. The current federal government would now also aim for equal treatment with the draft law, but would not relieve market participants of tax burdens, but would instead impose an equal tax burden on everyone.
“The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ proposal to restore equal tax conditions for all providers in the mail market corresponds to our desired solution to the problem,” said Otremba. “Nothing will change for normal letter senders, but all letter logistics providers will have the same opportunities for business customers in the future.”
Criticism from the post office
The Post criticized the draft. “The tax exemption is mandatory under European law and is linked to the provision of the universal postal service,” the company said. “Deutsche Post is the only provider in Germany that ensures nationwide postal delivery in accordance with legally prescribed quality standards and with its own infrastructure.” According to relevant case law, the transport of letters from business customers is also part of the universal service.
The regulation in the Postal Act 2024 clarified this legal situation, which is based on European law. “What the market needs is a reliable regulatory framework for everyone that does not violate European law,” said the Post.