Letters to the Editor

I was pleased to see that the campaign launched by the German tabloid Bild against the tourist tax has been a flop. Last week the German newspaper urged their readers to write to the King and complain. But rather than writing to His Majesty, they could just go somewhere else if they are so upset at the tax. If my local bar suddenly decides to increase the price of a cafe con leche and I am not willing to pay the increase, then I will simply find another bar, where prices are cheaper. I don't think I really have to write to the King to complain! Majorca may be Germany's favourite holiday island but their media has certainly got carried away. I have made my views on the tourist tax very clear in this column in the past, but I must say that I respect the local parliament and the decisions its members make. If they are mistaken then only time will tell. These MPs have been voted in by the Majorcan general public and their views should be respected. Bild is perfectly entitled to criticise the tax in its editorial but mounting a full blown campaign against a surcharge which has been approved in another country by its parliament is taking “a Europe without frontiers” a bit too far. Germany may be a major source of revenue for the Balearics but I don't feel that its media should dictate policy.