Status: 05.10.2022 1:55 p.m
Property owners must submit a property tax return by the end of October. So far, however, only a third of the owners have done so. Finance Minister Lindner therefore wants to extend the deadline.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wants to extend the deadline for submitting property tax returns. Lindner announced on Twitter that he would make this proposal to the federal states. “People (as well as the tax consultants and the tax authorities) have too many worries and burdens at the same time,” Lindner justified the step.
Millions of properties need to be revalued
In the course of the property tax reform, almost 36 million properties nationwide have to be revalued. Owners of houses, apartments and land actually have to submit a property tax return by October 31st. The declaration of determination must be submitted in electronic form to the tax authorities. The submission deadline at the end of October is not based on a federal regulation, but on determinations made by the federal states.
Lindner: Some are overwhelmed
So far, only a quarter to a third of those affected have done this, said Lindner on the RTL/ntv program “Frühstart”. “Some, maybe older people, pensioners, are overwhelmed by the property tax,” added the minister. There were also software problems.
Applications should not be simplified
Lindner does not believe in simplifying the applications for property tax: “The applications are digital in a comparatively simplified way. That can now be achieved by many,” said the FDP leader after a cabinet meeting.
He suggested a “manageable period” of “not many months” for the extension of the deadline. An extension of the deadline had been in the air for a long time because of the slow submission of the declarations. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the federal states have to decide on this.
Lindner is campaigning for countries to extend the property tax submission deadline
Barbara Kostolnik, ARD Berlin, October 5, 2022 3:02 p.m