Nearly 1.4 million residents in Southwest regions voice concern over property tax payments - Nearly 1.4 million objections lodged against south-western land tax implementation
High Resistance to New Property Tax in Baden-Württemberg
Property owners in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg are challenging the new property tax law, filing nearly 30 percent of all property tax objections with the tax office, according to a recent SWR report. This places Baden-Württemberg atop the nation for objections to the property tax, with 1.4 million objections out of nearly 4.8 million cases.
Nearly 1.3 million of these objections question the law's constitutionality, voicing doubts about its legality. In the Ministry of Finance in Stuttgart, it is stated that in around 125,000 cases, other reasons were given, such as inaccurate property size calculations. Approximately 56.7 percent of the objections have already been resolved.
Baden-Württemberg employs its unique property tax model, taking into account only the property's value, disregarding any structures or contents on the land. This has led to complaints from owners of single and two-family homes with large gardens, who now face significantly higher taxes.
Legal proceedings related to the question of the law's constitutionality are underway at the Federal Fiscal Court. A spokesperson stated that the processing of these objections is being put on hold until the ongoing court proceedings are settled.
In June 2024, the first two lawsuits against the new property tax were dismissed by the Finance Court of Baden-Württemberg, but these dismissals were later appealed to the Federal Fiscal Court.
Unlike Baden-Württemberg, most states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, use the federal model for property taxation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are currently 1.5 million objections, according to the Ministry of Finance in Düsseldorf. However, the ownership rate is lower in this state compared to Baden-Württemberg.
Bavaria, like Baden-Württemberg, uses its own property tax model, known as the area model. Under this system, the property tax is calculated primarily from the property and building areas. In Bavaria, there are around 1.3 million objections, the Ministry of Finance in Munich reports, with an objection rate of around 11.3 percent of the 12 million notifications.
The high number of objections in Baden-Württemberg stems from widespread concerns among property owners about the fairness and calculation basis of the new property tax law. Many taxpayers contest the valuation methods used for determining the taxable value of properties, feeling that reassessments have resulted in significantly higher tax burdens than anticipated. These objections reflect debates over how property values are assessed and the burden distribution, sparking considerable pushback in regions with high property values and many owners affected.
- The high resistance to the new property tax in Baden-Württemberg, as seen by the high number of objections, has prompted debates in the community policy and general-news sectors about the fairness and calculation basis of the tax law.
- The ongoing legal proceedings at the Federal Fiscal Court regarding the constitutionality of the property tax law in Baden-Württemberg have significant implications for the state's employment policy, as numerous objections are raising concerns about the legality and impact on employment, particularly in the finance and legal sectors.
