Property tax return: Bavaria extends the deadline by three months

Actually ends at midnight nationwide the deadline for property owners to submit their property tax returns. In Bavaria, owners are now given even more time in the short term: The cabinet surprisingly decided to extend the deadline again.

Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU) said in Munich that tax consultants in particular had pointed out their current overload “with great intensity”. “We don’t want to annoy anyone, that’s not our concern, we want to carry out this tax procedure properly.” And since it is a completely new procedure, the state government does not want to ignore the tax consultant’s request: “We would like to extend the deadline again in Bavaria and give it another three months.” The CSU politician added: “April 30th is the deadline.”

Minister: “We want to give relief”

With this extension of the deadline, the Free State of Füracker wants to “give more relief” – especially for the tax consulting professions. “And that’s also why no one who has already given up is negatively affected,” the minister clarified. “Everyone will have to make the statement.”

No energy should now be wasted “with endless debates about extensions and with reproaches”, but rather work constructively on this “giant project”. It is a “future work”, since the new tax will not be due until 2025 and there are still a few intermediate steps to be taken.

4.3 million declarations received so far

Füracker called for “really using the time now, so that in three months we will actually end up submitting almost all tax returns”. So far, around 4.3 million property tax returns have been received in Bavaria. This corresponds to around 70 percent of the declarations to be made. It is not unusual to be at around 70 to 80 percent by the end of the period. This is also the case with other types of taxes.

It is the largest tax project “that has had to be implemented in Germany for decades”. However, it was not a political decision to redesign the property tax, but a requirement of the Federal Constitutional Court, emphasized the CSU politician. The Free State is ultimately a service provider for the municipalities. “The entire property tax revenue is already with the municipalities and will remain with the municipalities in the future.”

Füracker: Only a few details needed

The minister emphasized that Bavaria has “really set standards” in terms of reducing bureaucracy with its property tax law, since only very little information is required compared to the federal government in the Free State. “In Bavaria, all you need is the plot area of ​​the economic unit and the living space.”

In addition, there is only one survey in the Free State. “With the federal model, a new survey must be carried out every seven years.” The standard land values ​​also played a role there, “which is expected to rise again and again – and that’s why the property taxes there will increase through the back door almost every seven years”. Bavaria doesn’t want that.

Opposition welcomes extension

The Bavarian AfD deputy leader Franz Bergmüller welcomed the extension. At the same time, however, he criticized the fact that the extension of the deadline would not change the basic problem. “Many people are completely overwhelmed with this property tax return.” According to Bergmüller, “all the bureaucracy” would not have been necessary: ​​”After all, you could have presented the property tax data from older surveys and saved the citizens from this bureaucratic confusion with an objection rule.”

The Greens finance expert in the state parliament, Tim Pargent, said that the extension of the deadline would be good for all those who still had difficulties with the property tax return. “You’ve gained more time now.” But it should now also be the last extension of the deadline, “otherwise the time will be too short for the implementation of the required new regulation”.

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