Munich (dpa / lby) – After real estate prices have doubled in the past ten years, Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU) is calling for higher inheritance tax allowances. “It cannot and must not be the case that children have to sell their parents’ home because they cannot afford the inheritance tax,” said Füracker on Saturday. Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) called for the abolition of inheritance tax.
The immediate reason is the Annual Tax Act 2023. This provides that from January 1, 2023, new standards – and closer to the actual market value – will apply to the valuation of real estate.
There is currently an allowance of EUR 400,000 per child if the heirs do not live in the parental home themselves. In the meantime, however, the purchase prices for residential buildings in sought-after locations in Upper Bavaria are over one million euros. In regions like Tegernseer Land, this even applies to old farms, some of which have been family-owned for generations.
“Since 2009, real estate prices in Munich, for example, have doubled or tripled in some cases,” said Füracker. “However, the personal allowances have not been adjusted for 13 years.” Higher allowances are the simplest means of providing relief. “Inheritance tax must not be a driving factor in preventing home ownership from being passed from one generation to the next.”
Aiwanger warned that inheritance taxes will rise significantly in 2023, and as a result, family property will increasingly fall to foreign investors. “Sweden/Norway/Austria have abolished this envy tax,” wrote Aiwanger on Twitter.
