Citizens defend themselves against high property taxes with 210 signatures!

Citizens defend themselves against high property taxes with 210 signatures!

In the city council meeting on February 4, 2025, the topic of property tax and the associated lifting rates were discussed intensively. Around two dozen inhabitants expressed their displeasure on the high property taxes by handing over 210 signatures, which were presented by Karsten Schilling to Mayor Peter Funck. Citizens are calling for a transparent calculation of a lower rate to reduce the financial burden. The audience chairs in the city council meeting were fully occupied, which underlined the urgency of the topic and illustrated the great influence of the citizens' voices on the decision -makers.

The legislator results in an adjustment of the rate, which is intended to compensate for the difference in the income from property tax. Like Buerger-fuer-rudolstadt.de , the city council has made a decision that is intended to ensure that the tax revenue from property tax for the city of Rudolstadt remains taxed. The annual income from property tax amounts to around 2.77 million euros. The city will not compensate for any losses in trade tax through property tax revenue, which emphasizes the independence of the tax types.

income and relief

The adjustment of the lifting rate is considered necessary to keep the city's income stable. If the financial situation improves and the income from property tax is higher than forecast, a possible adjustment of the rate of lifting is quite conceivable. This reform is intended to benefit owners of commercial properties and traders in particular. In particular, the municipal housing company and the Rudolstadt housing cooperative benefit from the tax relief. Fortunately, half of the city population already lives in company and cooperative apartments.

The property tax reform, which came into force on January 1, 2025, aims to avoid higher loads for homeowners, especially in comparison to companies. The lifting rate is a crucial factor in the calculation of property tax. The regulations vary greatly within the individual federal states, some implement the federal model, while others have enacted their own laws. According to haufe.de there are a variety of approaches to set fair lifting rates.

Current developments in the federal states

For example, Rhineland-Palatinate plans differentiated lifting rates to relieve residential property owners. It is similar in other federal states; On October 23, 2024, Saxony-Anhalt passed a law on the optional determination of differentiated lifting rates. Hamburg has increased the rate of property tax B from 540 to 975 percent, while Berlin reduced it from 810 to 470 percent. This shows how dynamically the respective situation is in the federal states and how different the measures to control the property tax burden.

While almost 36 million plots of land have to be re-evaluated across Germany, lawsuits have already been filed against the property tax reform, including the first model lawsuit in North Rhine-Westphalia, which was, however, rejected. The Hamburg Finance Court also dismissed a lawsuit against the reform. However, revision was approved.