As of: February 6, 2024, 11:59 a.m
By: Magnus Reitinger
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The city of Weilheim urgently needs higher income.
© Jens Schicke/Imago
Weilheim's city council will decide on increases in trade tax and dog tax on Thursday.
Both have already been priced into the city budget for 2024.
According to the town hall, the tasks can no longer be financed otherwise.
Weilheim
- For Weilheim's city treasurer, the situation is clear - and it is not rosy: "The development of the district levy, personnel costs, maintenance costs for the buildings or child care" is "hard to control or calculate," writes Christoph Scharf in the Documents for the city council meeting next Thursday, February 8th, in which the 2024 city budget will be decided.
And he adds: “Without increasing the fees for daycare centers, the dog tax and the assessment rate for trade tax, a structural change in the situation is not possible.”
This is how much the higher taxes are supposed to bring in per year
The city council decided ten days ago that daycare fees would be significantly higher from March, and tax adjustments will now follow.
The increase in dog tax is expected to bring in additional income of almost 44,000 euros per year - for the first dog from 60 to 100 euros, for each additional dog from 100 to 200 euros per year.
The city expects an annual increase of around 780,000 euros from an increase in the trade tax rate from 380 to 400 percentage points.
City wants to “spread the burden on several shoulders”
The main committee of the city council - which discussed the budget in long meetings - unanimously recommended both increases, explains Scharf.
The committee “recognized an urgent need for action to improve the situation in the administrative budget”.
The first draft budget was characterized by “drastic underfunding”.
In addition to cutting expenses, measures must also be taken to increase income.
An attempt was made to “distribute the burden across several shoulders”.
The increase is cost-neutral for some entrepreneurs
Both the dog tax and the business tax rate were last increased in Weilheim in 2012, according to the treasurer.
He emphasizes that partnerships can deduct the trade tax paid from the income tax payable up to a rate of 400 percentage points: “The trade tax payment is therefore neutral.” Corporations do not have this option, “the trade tax represents an actual burden for them”.
According to Scharf, partnerships currently account for 49 percent of trade tax revenue in Weilheim, while corporations account for 51 percent.
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The additional revenue of 780,000 euros from trade tax is already planned for in the 2024 budget draft.
Compared to the previous financial planning, “tremendous changes have occurred,” reports the city treasurer – due to higher burdens on current expenses as well as the necessary investments.
The three major construction sites Hardtschule, Ammerschule and Stadthalle alone will cost 9.1 million euros in 2024.
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Warning from trade association
Meanwhile, the Weilheim local association in the Bavarian Trade Association is warning of the intended trade tax increase.
This is “the wrong signal for the trade,” writes the local chairman Josef Wiedemann: “The trade is already having a hard time dealing with the current additional burdens such as high energy prices, a lack of staff, inflation and the associated price increases as well as the reluctance to buy.”
The budget session
of the Weilheim City Council is public and begins on Thursday, February 8th, at 6:30 p.m. in the town hall (large meeting room).