Sektsteuer, or to give it its proper name Schaumweinsteuer is a tax on some types of alchoholic drinks in Germany.  In particular this applies to Sekt – sparkling wine.

It was originally introduced in 1902 to fund the building of what is now known as the Kiel Canal and of the Imperial Navy, and was later used to provide funds to build Germany’s U-Boot fleet.  However, between 1933 and 1939 the tax was not applied in order to help the economy during the Great Depression.

The tax is still applied today.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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