Munich (dpa / lby) - There is still no implementation date for a law to prevent bed taxes in Bavaria. The state government has announced an amendment to the municipal tax law. "However, the exact time when the process will be completed has not yet been determined," said a spokeswoman for the responsible Ministry of the Interior when asked by the German Press Agency in Munich. The law will be changed "soon".
With the amendment to the law, municipalities should be prohibited from introducing a corresponding tax, as is currently planned by the state capital of Munich. Should Munich apply for the introduction of an accommodation tax beforehand, this will be rejected for legal reasons. In this case, Munich's Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) had announced a lawsuit before the administrative court.
The trigger for the dispute was the announcement by the state capital Munich that it was the first Bavarian municipality to demand a five percent accommodation tax from hotels. While the state government is on the side of the hotel and catering industry and is against it, the city council and the city of Munich are demanding that municipal sovereignty be allowed to decide independently on the relevant taxes. The Federal Constitutional Court only declared the accommodation tax to be constitutional in March.
In contrast to experts and municipalities, the state government expects negative consequences for tourism as a result of municipal bed taxes. In view of the heavy burden caused by the corona pandemic and the current energy crisis, that would be a fatal signal. So far, no municipality in Bavaria has levied an accommodation tax - in other federal states, however, the tax is common in many places.
