"Leisure residence"

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The defiant pensioner appealed to the provincial administrative court and prepared himself meticulously.(Bild: zoom.tirol)

Kitzbühel's former district police chief Josef Bodner was supposed to pay a 2448 euro residence tax like a tourist because he often visited his mother in East Tyrol. Following his appeal, the provincial administrative court now gave him some good news before Christmas.

"I'm certainly not a litigious person - but it's worth fighting for your convictions," says Bodner, pleased with the pre-Christmas message from the provincial administrative court. But he also admits: "Without the encouragement of a friend and lawyer, I would probably have given up."

Always connected to his homeland
The "Krone" had already reported on the background in January: Like many East Tyroleans, the now 71-year-old gained a professional foothold in North Tyrol and rose to a police management position in the Kitzbühel district. He remained closely connected to his home in Abfaltersbach, not only visiting his mother around the holidays and staying in a small attic apartment in his parents' house.

I came across a young judge who acted objectively and had the will to filter out the exact purpose of the stays.

Sepp Bodner

Suddenly a prescription for "leisure residence"
Bodner only realized that the rules for a leisure residence applied when he was ordered to pay a flat-rate residence tax of 2,400 euros, plus a 48 euro late payment surcharge - all calculated back over five years.

Josef Bodner on the day of the court hearing, he had meticulously prepared his arguments.(Bild: zoom.tirol)

Arguments met with understanding in court
The stubborn pensioner appealed to the provincial administrative court and prepared himself meticulously. "I came up against a young judge who acted objectively," he says, praising the judge's willingness to filter out the exact purpose of the stays at a hearing. "I described helping my mother around the house and in the garden, woodwork for the tiled stove, trips to the doctor and to the shops and smaller outings," the 71-year-old describes.

Ultimately, the administrative court wrote: "There is no sufficient connection to tourism that would result in a tax obligation." Decision therefore annulled.

"If necessary, you have to fight within the rule of law"
Bodner's conclusion on the case: "I want to signal to my fellow citizens that the rule of law, democracy and personal freedom have been given to the current generation. But they are not a given and you have to fight when necessary."