Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – The approximately two million property tax returns that are still missing in North Rhine-Westphalia are causing concern for the municipalities with regard to this important source of income. “The fact that only 70 percent of the owners have submitted a declaration of determination is not the end of the world for the municipalities, but it is a cause for concern,” said the chief executive of the NRW Association of Towns and Municipalities, Christof Sommer, in a statement in Düsseldorf on Wednesday. The municipalities needed enough data from the tax offices by spring 2024 to be able to calculate the new property tax.
The municipalities would make sure that they received the same amount of income as before the reform. This is the only way they could continue to finance their services. “They are dependent on the income for their existence and use it to finance the operation of schools and kindergartens or streets and playgrounds,” Sommer explained. According to the central association of municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia, the municipalities take in a total of around 3.9 billion euros per year from property taxes.
“I can’t imagine that the municipalities will increase their tax revenues just because of the property tax reform,” Sommer explained. But every owner must be aware that there will be shifts. “One will pay more, the other less. The standard is now the current value of the property, no longer that of 1964 as before the reform,” explained the association representative.
Of the property owners who have quickly submitted a declaration and have already received a decision from the tax office, many are concerned that the value is much higher than it used to be. “But this number alone says nothing about the later level of property tax,” emphasized Sommer. The decisive factor is the measured number and it has been significantly reduced. In addition, the assessment rate of the respective municipality is another factor that still has to be recalculated on the basis of reliable data. Only in 2025 would the property owners really know what they would then have to pay in property tax.
