From 1 January 2025, day moorers in all ports in Kappeln will have to dig deeper into their pockets, as a flat-rate overnight stay or bed tax of 5 percent will be levied. In the town harbour, this means that the current price of 22 euros for a berth for boats up to 12 metres will be increased by 1.10 euros. The tax also explicitly applies to marinas, even if the operators do not provide "beds". The new regulation can be found on the Website of the city can be read here.
Important news for long-term leavers: Anyone who has a contract with an annual time limit should check the term, as long-term contracts are taxable for up to six months, but not for longer. Such contracts usually run from April to October, i.e. longer than six months, but some ports had shortened the autumn season somewhat after the autumn storm of 2024 in October, so a look at the mooring contract is advisable.
An unfair competition?
As expected, the new tax has met with little favour in the industry on the Schlei. The operators argue that this is unfair competition. After all, the fee is not levied in nearby Maasholm or Arnis, as these are not part of the municipal area. In addition, many harbour operators have already had to increase berth prices in recent years, as the costs for the harbours are simply rising continuously due to higher energy, disposal and investment costs following flood damage. However, in times of recession, it would have been nice to do without another cost factor and, above all, without even more bureaucracy, as the operators have to collect the money for the state and transfer it to the tax office immediately.
Constitutional complaint failed at the end of 2022
It is to be hoped that the example of Kappeln does not set a precedent on the coast. It was only at the end of 2022 that a constitutional complaint by hotels and other holiday home operators against such practices by local authorities failed. In the judgement, the Federal Constitutional Court found that the tax rate on the overnight price was usually "low", which is the case with a single-digit percentage tax on the overnight price.
The Kappeln CDU, which provides the town's mayor, has spoken out clearly in favour of the taxas the burden of developing the city's tourism infrastructure cannot be placed solely on the citizens.
In the first report on the subject, YACHT initially incorrectly reported that the fee would be 5 euros per overnight stay. However, it is actually 5% of the overnight stay fee.
