According to a new study, citizens in many communities in Germany have to adjust to significantly higher taxes and fees. Eighty-seven percent of cities and towns of 20,000 or more inhabitants plan to ask people to pay in addition to the health insurance fund this year or next, according to an investigation by the auditing and consulting firm EY.
According to the study, about one third (31 percent) of municipalities want to increase the fees for street cleaning, 30 percent of cities and municipalities want to screw on the politically disputed property tax. Also in the areas of garbage (29 percent) and cemetery (27 percent) would be required in some municipalities soon more money, also plan more than one in four municipalities an increase in parking fees (27 percent). The business tax should rise in about every fifth city or community (19 percent).
Above all, the basic and trade tax are significant sources of revenue for cities and municipalities and can be set by themselves through so-called levy rates. The business tax must pay companies - the amount of this tax is always an important location factor for companies. The property tax is considered to be the most important municipal tax ever - so the state of Berlin takes in more than 800 million euros annually. According to the specifications of the Federal Constitutional Court, however, it must be revised by the end of the year because the basis for valuation is outdated.
Striking are the pronounced regional differences. While according to study in Hesse (91 percent), Thuringia (89 percent) and North Rhine-Westphalia (81 percent), a majority of municipalities plans increases in fees and taxes, in Bavaria (48 percent) and in Saxony (30 percent) respectively less than the half.