The left in Bavaria wants to sue against the property tax reform in the Free State. The party announced this on Friday in Munich. She criticizes the fact that property tax in Bavaria is only calculated on the basis of the area of land and buildings and use, and that the value of the land and real estate is irrelevant. The federal law actually provides for a value-dependent model – but Bavaria has enforced a state opening clause and is making use of it.
“As a result, land with a high standard land value and buildings with a relatively high value will be tax-free in Bavaria in the future, and in return properties with a low standard land value and relatively low building values will be taxed more,” argued the left. Since the property tax is passed directly to the tenants, the majority of tenants will be burdened more heavily, while owners and tenants in “well-heeled areas” will be relieved. This means that the Bavarian form of property tax treats properties of the same size in the same way without any objective reason, without taking into account the different location, type, condition, age and equipment of the buildings. The left wants to present details of the lawsuit in the coming week.
Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU) rejected the criticism. “There will be no tax increases ‘through the back door’, i.e. solely because of constantly rising property prices, in Bavaria,” he said. “A value-based property tax is the entry into a disguised wealth tax – a long-standing and reasonably unfulfilled demand of the left. Bavaria will not go along with that.” You look forward to the lawsuit.
The ministry argues that the value of a piece of land or real estate does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the specific income situation. Even if the property increases in value, the owners do not automatically have a higher income at their disposal. A widow with a small pension in the house she inherited and used herself does not benefit from the increase in value of the property she lives in – but with a value-dependent model she would have to reckon with ever increasing property taxes and pay more and more.
The state parliament had passed the state’s own property tax law in November last year. For the new property tax calculation, all owners nationwide must submit a property tax return. The submission deadline for this expires at the end of October, but an extension of the deadline is currently being discussed.