The nationwide deadline for property owners to submit their property tax returns actually ends at midnight. 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.”
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 nobody who has already handed in is negatively affected,” the minister clarified. “Everyone will have to make the statement.”
No energy should now be wasted “in endless debates about extensions and with reproaches”, but rather work constructively on this “giant project”, emphasized the minister. This 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
According to Füracker, around 4.3 million property tax returns have been received in Bavaria so far. 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.
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.”
More about that at BR24.