Who’s your nanny?

May 9, 2026 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Germany, Government, Regulation, Sugar, Taxation, Taxes Leave a comment

A spoonful of sugar helps the government interference go down.

But we’re going to tax it anyway.

Germany’s sugar tax sparks ‘nanny state’ debate – Friedrich Merz’s government has agreed to introduce a sugar levy on soft drinks as part of its health care reforms. Critics have called it disproportionate interference, but dozens of countries already have such a levy.

The German government’s decision to introduce a levy on sugary drinks as part of its health care reform package has triggered a new debate on government interference in diets.

A business that is “purely profit-oriented?”

April 26, 2026 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Airlines, Berlin, Bureaucracy, Business, Germany, Profit, Regulation, Ryanair, Taxation, Taxes Leave a comment

Oh, the horror.

It sure is a good thing that German businesses are never run that way.

Ryanair to shut Berlin base as it blames rise in German aviation tax – Trade union criticises airline’s plan to halve passenger numbers to the city as ‘purely profit-oriented…’

“German aviation is broken. The government admits that it is uncompetitive, yet there is no strategy to cut aviation taxes or high airport fees – despite Ryanair warning that Germany would lose traffic, connectivity, jobs and trade.

“Since 2019, Ryanair has been forced to close its bases in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart … in addition to stopping all flights to Dresden, Leipzig and Dortmund.” It said the closures had led to the loss of 13 aircraft from those bases.

The German trade union Verdi criticised Ryanair’s plans as a “purely profit-oriented corporate strategy”.

Worry about the cost of living?

October 12, 2024 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Business, Cost of Living, Costs, Fees, German, Germans, Germany, Inflation, Language, Regulations, Taxation, Taxes Leave a comment

Why should Germans worry about that?

Vater Staat (Father State) has everything under control. Wie immer (as usual).

Germans fear rising cost of living – Inflation, migration, expensive housing — these are the things that most people in Germany are worried about, according to the latest study “Germans’ Fears 2024.”

And tax breaks for skilled German workers?

July 10, 2024 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Foreigners, German, Germany, Government, Language, Spending, Taxation, Taxes, Waste Leave a comment

Out of the question.

Wir sind doch nicht blöd (we aren’t stupid). Somebody has to pay for this.

Germany debates tax breaks for skilled foreign workers – The German government wants to grant skilled foreign workers a tax rebate if they take up employment in Germany. But the idea has been met with resistance.

Your can hardly get any customers to visit your restaurant now?

December 28, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Budgets, Germany, Government, Government spending, Government Waste, Restaurants, Taxation, Taxes, VAT Leave a comment

I know! We’ll increase the sales tax so nobody comes to your restaurant at all anymore.

No need to thank us. We’re from the government and we’re here to help.

German budget woes trigger disaster warnings for restaurants – Owners who oppose return to higher pre-pandemic VAT rate are dismissed as scaremongers by economists.

Kemal Üres, owner of a tapas bar in Hamburg, has spent the past year telling his social media followers that thousands of businesses like his will be destroyed by a planned tax increase.

The man who calls himself the “Gastroflüsterer”, or restaurant whisperer, is campaigning to make the pandemic-era cut in value added tax on restaurant meals permanent. Otherwise, the German government’s decision to raise VAT from the 7 per cent rate in place since 2020 back up to 19 per cent in January would lead to higher prices, job cuts and as many as 30,000 bankruptcies, he said.

It’s a cover-up!

August 10, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: Angela Merkel, Government Waste, Politicians, Taxation, Taxes Leave a comment

I mean, a makeup! A makeup cover-up? I don’t make this stuff up. Just look at the before and after photos.

The one on the left was taken before she ripped German taxpayers off of €55,000. The one on the right is after. She pocketed that cash, people.

Germans funded £47k in hair and makeup expenses for Angela Merkel since leaving office – Despite stepping down from her prominent role almost two years ago, Merkel continues to submit expense claims to the federal government.

As revealed in documents obtained by Tagesspiegel through a Freedom of Information Act request, the former German Chancellor keeps filing her expenses to the federal government.

How Germany Pays For Refugees?

April 15, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: German, Germans, Germany, Language, Refugees, Taxation, Taxes, Ukraine Leave a comment

It’s something they call “Steuerzahler” here.

That means taxpayer.

It’s a crazy new German concept the rest of the world ought to look into, I guess: The ever-expanding state taking on ever-expanding functions it finances by extorting a population ever-willing to pay up.

Ukraine war: How Germany pays for refugees – German leaders recently agreed on a €2 billion package helping states accommodate and integrate Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s war. But money is not the only problem.

“Overall, we have found an acceptable compromise on the distribution of financial responsibility.”

German Green Government In Action

January 7, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Germans, Germany, Government, Greens, Inflation, Nuclear energy, Politicians, Renewable energy, Taxation, Taxes Leave a comment

It’s brilliant, really. Or diabolical, if you prefer.

First create the current energy crisis by forcing the country to go down the ideological path to unreliable and unaffordable renewable energy, come what may, heavily burdening the German taxpayer, consumer and businessman in the process. Then promise aid to those most negatively affected by this crisis by burdening the German taxpayer, consumer and businessman even further. And still come out of it smelling like a rose. Aid here is just another nice word for taxation.

Germany’s soaring energy prices force government to promise aid – Headline inflation dips slightly, but energy costs still rising at double-digit pace.

No More Free Testing?

August 10, 2021 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Health, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Coronavirus, COVID-19, German, Germans, Germany, Lockdowns, Restrictions, Taxation, Taxes, Taxpayers, Testing, Vaccinations Leave a comment

You mean no more of the free testing taxpayers were already paying “through the nose” for?

Now, instead of having to pay for it, they have to pay for it. What a rotten deal.

Germany to Stop Free COVID-19 Tests – Germany wants to end free coronavirus tests in October, the RND group of newspapers reported on Monday, citing a draft proposal to be discussed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the country’s 16 states.

The government made the tests free for all in March to make a gradual return to normal life possible after a lockdown to break a third wave of COVID-19.

Tax Us More?

December 17, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypochondria, Hysteria Tags: Angela Merkel, Climate Change, CO2, German, Germans, Germany, Taxation, Taxes Leave a comment

Don’t ask. It’s a German thing.

Germans Agree CO2 Taxes Aren’t High Enough and Want to Pay More – Germans say they’re ready pay a higher national levy on carbon pollution after utilities and policy makers joined climate activists in rebelling against proposed below-market rates deemed insufficient to fight climate change…

Merkel said the levy was the “centerpiece” of her government’s move to get Germany back on track to cut emissions.

Now if we could only get Merkel & Co. to cut their emissions. German oddity 10: Germans have more words for taxation than Eskimos have for snow.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Tag Archives: Taxes