Property tax: Criticism is growing – CSU calls for extension of the deadline – economy

Now it should actually be quick: Real estate owners only have until January 31 to make the property tax return for their houses, condominiums and land. Then the deadline ends. But many landowners can’t handle the forms. A good half of the almost 36 million reports required are still pending. The Federal Ministry of Finance had already extended the submission deadline by three months from the end of October to the end of January due to the sluggish submission.

Criticism of the property tax reform is growing. Union parliamentary group leader Ulrich Lange (CSU) is now calling for the deadline to be extended again. “It is also unacceptable that citizens and companies are patronized, but the federal government gets an extra sausage for its own properties in September,” he said in the picture. In an answer to a question from a CDU member of the Bundestag, the Ministry of Finance had admitted that all declarations for federal properties could only be made by the end of September.

Criticism also comes from the taxpayers’ association. President Reiner Holznagel said the picture, it is obvious that the new tax does not work that way, contains many injustices and ultimately leads to significant additional burdens. “That’s why we will take the new property tax to the Federal Constitutional Court in almost all federal states,” announced Holznagel. The taxpayers’ association is pursuing this project together with the real estate owners’ association Haus und Grund. Its President Kai Warnecke said: “The property tax is far too complicated, non-transparent and unfair.”

The German Tenants’ Association, on the other hand, demands that the property tax no longer be passed on to the tenants via the utility bill. Federal Director Melanie Weber-Moritz said picture: “The property tax is a tax on the ownership of land and buildings, so these costs must be borne by landlords.”

The real estate tax reform was already passed in 2019. The new declarations have become necessary because the property tax is to be calculated differently from 2025 onwards. The Federal Constitutional Court declared the previous regulation to be unconstitutional in 2018, since the calculation was based on data that was in some cases completely outdated. Submission of the declaration is mandatory for all property owners. In the event of non-delivery, there is a penalty. In addition, the tax office can estimate the data and set a late fee.

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