Zakopane City Hall charges tourists a local fee of PLN 2 for each day of their stay under the Tatra Mountains. However, in July 2017, the Krakow Regional Administrative Court found that the local government was illegally charging for clean air because the air did not meet required standards.
Disagreement over climate tax
One of the tourists, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Bogdan Ahemiscu, appealed to the court. In his opinion, one should not pay the price for polluted air. It was supported by environmental organizations and the Ombudsman.
The court found that the city council’s decision on the imposition of local fees from 2008 was flawed and there were grounds for declaring it invalid. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld this ruling in 2018.
Zakopane still charges tourists a tourist fee. – The ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court refers to the decision of the Zakopane City Council of 2008. Its repeal does not mean a ban on the imposition of such fees, as the previous regulation of Malopolska Voivodeship is in force – said the then city secretary of Zakopane, Grzegorz Sisło.
In December 2023, the Zakopane City Council adopted a new resolution on local fees, but the Faculty of the Kraków Regional Audit Chamber found it invalid. Therefore, the decision issued in this regard from 2015 applies to the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in the case.
