This is how the state eats up the legacy - a million-dollar levy for Munich's old town house

Created: 01/08/2022, 08:10 AM

From: Sophia Oberhuber

The Gruber's building is on Stollbergstrasse.

© Marcus sleep

With a house in the best Munich old town location, the senior citizen Hildegard Gruber (name changed by the editorial team) is considered rich.

But now the inheritance tax threatens to force the family to sell the house.

Munich - What would you want with several million euros in your pocket when you have to give up your home? This could be the case for Hildegard Gruber's family (name changed by the editors) as one of many Munich * families in the future. In Gruber's property: a more than 150 year old house, listed, best Munich old town location. But in order to keep it, her family will have to pay inheritance tax at some point.

The current figure would amount to 1.5 million, according to Gruber.

Raising that is hardly possible.

Then another house from Munich private owners would go to investors.

"Many in the city are very worried about inheritance tax," reports the 82-year-old.

She wants to remain anonymous.

She is already constantly harassed by foreign investors who are determined to buy the house from her, says the Munich resident.

Inheritance tax in Munich has at least doubled since 2012

Gruber inherited the property from her partner 30 years ago.

A lot of money went into the house - maintenance, handyman, insurance and taxes.

Today it is largely rented out commercially.

Gruber's children have lived in the old building for 25 years, and their grandchildren grew up there.

“My children and grandchildren really want to stay here,” says the 82-year-old.

In order to be able to keep the property in family ownership, the Munich residents have to raise inheritance tax at some point.

This is measured, among other things, according to the regional standard land value, which is adjusted and thus increased every two years.

According to the auditor Acconsis, the values ​​in Munich have at least doubled since 2012, and in some cases even tripled.

Tax exemption remains the same - inheritance tax rises: "Something's going wrong"

But what remains the same in the event of inheritance despite price increases: the tax allowance for surviving dependents.

Across Germany, this is 400,000 euros per child and 200,000 euros per grandchild.

And that annoys Gruber: “Something's going wrong.

Private landlords will die out in Munich because they cannot afford inheritance tax *. ”To prevent this, the tax-free allowance for heirs must be at least doubled.

That is why the Munich resident has "taken up the fight" for several years, repeatedly describing the problem to various politicians and ministries.

Nothing has happened so far.