Currently, the possibility of charging a local fee is regulated on the basis of Environmental Protection Act of 2001 and regulation of 18 December 2007 According to Zakopane councilors, the current regulations have a negative impact on the city's statistics. The problem is also expected to appear in other resorts in Poland.
Zakopane. Councilors want a change in the local fee
The councilors submitted a request to the Prime Minister's office and the Sejm to change the regulations regarding the collection of the so-called climate fee – informed PAP, whose telegrams it quotes Business Insider. Currently, the local tax can only be collected in tourist places that have appropriate air quality. Currently, the standards are averaged for the entire region, which affects the result of Zakopane itself.
The councilors' initiative is related to the non-final ruling of the administrative court, which stated that Zakopane was unfairly charging a fee, taking into account air pollution. The city filed a cassation appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. According to councilors, air quality should be considered only on the basis of data from towns that collect local fees.
A councilor from Zakopane and head of the city's tourism and promotion committee, Tymoteusz Mróz, explained that “in the case of Zakopane, the zone covers several dozen towns from several districts and in this case, air standards have already been exceeded.” According to him, in this case, charging a local fee “is not legal.”
Local tax. What is it about?
In Zakopane, the local tax for tourists is currently PLN 2 per person per day. It is collected by hotel or accommodation owners from people who stay in a given city for more than 24 hours. Due to this, the city budget receives approximately PLN 4.5 million annually.