Munich could get a bed tax in the future. The city council voted in favor of this on Wednesday. However, the possible implementation is likely to take a long time, because it is to be expected that the state parliament will vote for the Bavaria-wide ban on such a tax this Thursday. He fears that there will be legal disputes for years, said SPD city councilor Christian Köning. Introducing a bed tax is correct; those who come to Munich would also have to contribute to the necessary investments in the infrastructure.
The finance department hopes that an overnight tax, which already exists in many German cities, will generate additional income of 60 to 80 million euros per year. The tax will come, said Green City Councilor Beppo Brem, despite “the state parliament’s attempt to delay it”. At the same time, the Greens called on the Treasury to check whether a lower limit of 50 euros could be introduced for the fee so that cheap overnight stays would not be affected. Youth hostels are also to be excluded, as are existing contracts with congress organizers. However, introducing such exceptions could be difficult, as Chamberlain Christoph Frey (SPD) indicated.
The CSU criticizes the bill as “anti-business”
CSU/Free Voters and FDP/Bavarian Party voted against the bed tax. Hans Theiss (CSU) criticized the draft from the finance department as “anti-business”. Now is not the time for tax increases, but for relief. Jörg Hoffmann (FDP) said the city had “no revenue problem, just a spending problem”. The planned tax is an “attempt to mend the budget from the wrong side”.
However, the state government’s approach of banning the tax from above is seen as an intervention in local self-government “which we must not put up with”. The FDP voted against the bed tax, but at the same time wanted the city to take legal action against the state government’s planned ban. Florian Roth (Greens) found it “exciting” that the CSU did not want to comment on the question of a possible lawsuit.
The Tourismus Initiative München (TIM) described the decision in a statement as a “fatal wrong decision at the expense of the entire Munich tourism industry”. The tax will lead to “significant losses” in the industry.