Interview: Lake Constance sailor considers selling his boat - because of the tourist tax
Jan Zier
· 15.12.2022
A dispute has broken out on Lake Constance over the tourist tax: In Kressbronn, the municipality now wants to collect 198 euros a year from every berth holder. The money is intended to help finance the tourist facilities that can then be used with the "Echt Bodensee Card".
YACHT: You have been fighting against the tourist tax in Kressbronn for years with enormous commitment, writing objection after objection. Why is that?
Mayer: I just think it's unfair! The tourist tax is supposed to finance tourist facilities in the municipality, such as the lido here, which you can then use cheaply. But I'm not there. I come to the municipality as a non-resident who has his own boat in a private harbour, not as a tourist. Nevertheless, I am expected to pay, even though neither day tourists, charterers nor holidaymakers with trailer boats are asked to pay. I see a difference between the sailors and a hotel guest and cannot follow the argument that they are presumably using Kressbronn's facilities. Otherwise, any other municipality could charge me money because my car might be parked there.
However, a court has ruled that the tourist tax does not depend on whether you actually use the municipality's facilities.
But if I stay in the harbour with the same boat for just one night, I pay nothing. However, because I park it in the harbour for the whole season, I pay a penalty - and not a small one at that!
Initially it was about 20 euros per person, now it's just under 200 euros for the boat. Is it worth all the effort?
No, of course not! It's a matter of principle. And nobody knows what will happen next year.
How much money do you spend on your boat each year?
It's not primarily about the money. If Kressbronn succeeds here, other municipalities will follow suit. I am sure of that.
If there was a boat tax of the same amount, would you protest so vehemently?
Then I probably wouldn't be able to fight it. If there was a targeted tax, it would be different to Kressbronn, where I don't get anything from the visitor's tax. If the municipality offers me something that I use, I'm happy to pay. There are 1,500 boats in the Ultramarin harbour in Kressbronn alone. I understand when a treasurer thinks about how he can cash in. But bending the tourist tax until it suits is not right. The municipality should be honest. At the same time, it's a scandal that all permanent residents are treated equally, regardless of boat size.
Do you think you can win this battle against Kressbronn?
Certainly not alone. If many people protest and seek publicity, we would at least have a chance of a clean separation. Meichle + Mohr as harbour operators and the Kressbronn sailors and fishermen are also taking legal action against the visitor's tax, but I don't want that myself.
Do you sometimes feel like a sailing Don Quixote?
Possibly! In any case, I have no problem with being called that.
What happens if you lose in the end?
I'm thinking about staying away from the municipality in future before they demand money for the soles of my shoes. I might sell my boat. Then I would charter boats or sail my dinghy on the lake.
