Property tax: The tension in the town halls is rising
Created: 01/10/2023 09:16
By: Andreas Daschner
Here you can get help filling out the tax return © Jens Büttner
Many property owners are currently struggling with the new property tax return.
The municipalities are already eagerly awaiting the results.
District – It is still unclear in many town halls how the newly calculated tax will affect them.
Changes in the assessment rates are not excluded in the future.
The landowners were treated unequally: the property tax was calculated on the basis of outdated unit values.
However, these have never been adjusted in the past, which is why very different taxes were often due for comparable properties from different years of construction.
The Federal Council has now put a stop to this with the reform.
revenue neutral
The state government stipulates that the property tax should remain revenue-neutral even after the reform.
In other words, the municipalities should not earn more or less than before – even though there may well be an additional burden for individual landowners.
However, it remains to be seen whether revenue neutrality can be achieved without changing the assessment rates.
Most communities shrug their shoulders when asked about the impact of the reform on revenue levels.
You don't know yet.
After all, in Olching one dares to make a prognosis.
"The test calculations by the Bavarian Association of Cities show that if the assessment rates remain unchanged, there will be a significant drop in revenue," says treasurer Robert Schuhbauer.
In this respect, the municipalities are forced to hold a discussion about the assessment rates in order to stabilize their income.
The property tax is not a gold mine for most municipalities, but it is still an important source of income.
"It is one of the very few revenue items in the city budget that can be planned and controlled," says Fürstenfeldbruck's town hall spokeswoman Tina Rodermund-Vogl.
The Moorenweiser treasurer Gerhard Rieß therefore describes them as indispensable.
Important source of money for municipalities
In fact, property tax B – i.e. for developed land – accounts for between three and five percent of the budget in most municipalities.
In Gröbenzell, with a good 1.95 million euros, it is the third-largest income item after income tax participation and trade tax.
In Eichenau, with just over five percent of the income, it is the fourth-highest tax and, according to Alexander Zydek, “an important pillar of income”.
On the other hand, property tax A for agricultural land is of little consequence.
Their share of the total budget is usually well below one percent.
Incidentally, the amount of the assessment rates is determined by the respective city and municipal councils.
They can be very different.
In the district, they are usually in the range between 300 and 350 percent.
However, there are also outliers – both upwards and downwards.
The highest rates are in Maisach (360) and Germering (385), the lowest in Moorenweis (295).
In Maisach, treasurer Angelika Braunmüller justifies this “based on history”.
The rates have always been slightly higher than average, and this has been maintained until now.
In Germering, however, according to town hall spokeswoman Renate Konrad, the increase was part of the consolidation program required by legal supervision.
Previously, the assessment rate there was only 330 percent.
In Moorenweis, however, the tax rate has simply not been adjusted for a long time - the last time was in 1995. "It was in the middle of the district," says Kämmerer Rieß.
(
By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular
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Whether the assessment rates will be adjusted as part of the reform will only be decided in all places when the new figures are available.
Regardless of the reform, some municipalities are considering raising the rates – for financial reasons.
Gröbenzell's Mayor Martin Schäfer refers to the "increasing expenditure for the construction sector".
Taxes should therefore be raised rather than lowered.
And according to the treasurer Kerstin Pentenrieder, Schöngeising is also considering increasing the assessment rates due to the financial situation.
You can get help filling out your tax return here
Landowners must submit a property tax return by January 31st.
The Fürstenfeldbruck district office has put together information and help on this.
Detailed information and explanatory videos are available online at www.grundsteuer.bayern.de.
There are instructions on how to fill out the property tax return forms.
At www.elster.de under How can I find help?
there is a chatbot.
The information hotline can be reached on telephone (089) 30 70 00 77 from Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free online access to data from the real estate cadastre (Bayern Atlas property tax) is available, for example, via the ELSTER property tax form for Bavaria, at www.grundsteuer.bayern.de or by searching the internet for Bayern Atlas property tax.
Also interesting:
The tax office warns: These are the most common mistakes when submitting the property tax return
You can find more current news from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck at Merkur.de/Fürstenfeldbruck.
