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Bavaria’s Top Court Upholds Ban on Municipal Bed Taxes

Munich plans to examine a complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court following its defeat.

Overview

  • Munich, Bamberg and Günzburg lost their case at the Bavarian Constitutional Court, leaving the 2023 state ban on local overnight taxes in place.
  • The judges found no unconstitutional infringement of municipal financial autonomy and accepted the legislature’s forecast of potential harm to tourism.
  • Tourists in Bavarian cities, including Munich, will continue to face no bed tax under the current legal framework.
  • Munich estimates it could have raised up to €100 million annually from an overnight levy, and the Bavarian Association of Cities is weighing a federal complaint.
  • The hotel and restaurant group Dehoga Bayern and senior CSU officials welcomed the ruling, while similar taxes remain permitted in many other German states.