Germany Chases Brewers for Taxes Regardless of Size

A recent court ruling in Germany burdening a rogue hobby brewer with the same tax treatment as the nation’s largest beer houses is a case study on why not to mess with two of the most well-known pillars of German society: beer and bureaucracy.

As the craft-beer movement grips Germany amid falling sales from traditional brewers, it shows that market fads don’t diminish the deep-seated formalities that continue to govern Germany’s beloved beer market, Thomas Busching, a partner with Squire Patton Boggs in Frankfurt, told Bloomberg Tax Aug. 7.

“There’s ...