Reform proposals: property tax – but how?

In Germany, there are about 36 million residential and land buildings. The property tax due is determined on the basis of three factors that are multiplied together: the unit value, which is calculated from the type of property and age of the house, the rate of tax. taxation and the tax rate defined by municipalities. Depending on the financial difficulties of municipalities, this rate can currently be less than 100%, or almost 1000%.

There is a value-based model on the table. The following factors must be included in the calculation of the unit value: net rent, living space, year of construction, site area and baseline. At the beginning of 2020, property owners should submit a tax return with this data. In the case of real estate occupied by themselves, a fictitious rent must be applied on the basis of the micro-census of the Federal Statistical Office.

The tax badessment would be redefined by the federal government, the tax rate would continue to specify the municipalities. In cases where the property tax increases, according to government circles, this would be an additional annual burden representing an "average amount in double-digit euros".

An independent model of value is also under study. The value is determined by the size of the property and the building. This is why we also call it surface model.

It is favored, among others, by Bayern, the real estate sector that advertises, because of the simple study done for the surface model. In the proposals of the Federal Minister of Finance Scholz, no pure property tax, based on the value of the land, is required, as requested by the Tenant Association and the Institute of Finance. German industry.

Since rent would be included in the value-dependent model – and the property tax could be pbaded on to tenants – living in already stressed areas could become even more expensive. The Mieterbund and the opposition parties criticize the model and demand that the tax not be refunded. In addition, a huge bureaucratic effort is being warned, as the information would be needed for each apartment.

Neither is there easy agreement in the countries. Bayern rejects the plans. The state governed by the CSU stated that it would adhere to the simple, independent model of value, which takes into account only the size of the parcel and the floor area.

At the Senate Finance Department of Berlin, however, it was said that a proposal that provided a value-based element was "fundamentally" welcomed. This proposal is followed by the Minister of Finance of Schleswig-Holstein, Heinold. "In the calculation, factors such as net rent, living space, land value and year of construction should play a fundamental role, so that the owners of cheap buildings do not pay the bills. same taxes as owners of expensive homes and apartments, "she said.

Until now, the basis for calculating property tax is based on unit values. They are completely obsolete: in West Germany, they were last established in 1964, in the states of East Germany in 1935. This violates the principle of equality, ruled the Constitutional Court federal in April 2018.