Stuttgart (dpa / lhe) - The tax burden from property tax is comparatively high in Hesse. In 2021 it was an average of 201 euros per capita, according to a study by the consulting firm Ernst that was published on Friday
The average assessment rate for property tax B, which is levied on developed and developable properties and paid by owners or passed on to tenants, is also the second highest in Hesse at 482, again behind North Rhine-Westphalia (551). At the end of last year, two Hessian municipalities had the highest property tax rates in Germany: Lorch in the Rheingau-Taunus district and Lautertal in the Bergstraße district, each with 1050. Nauheim in the Groß-Gerau district and Ringgau in the Werra were also in the top places in Germany -Meißner-Kreis (960 each), Bad Karlshafen (951) in the very north, Bad Emstal in the Kassel district (950) and Offenbach (895). According to EY, 19 of the 50 German municipalities with the highest tax rates nationwide are in Hesse.
Basically, EY comes to the conclusion that the billions in surplus in the municipalities last year led to fewer increases in property tax than in previous years. According to this, around eight percent of German municipalities increased their property tax rate in 2021. The proportion was last lower in 2009. In Hesse it was just under 7 percent.
"The strong economic recovery after the corona shock has led to surprisingly good financial development in many municipalities and a municipal financing surplus of 4.6 billion euros," explained the head of the government department
How the property tax reform, in the course of which millions of homeowners are currently having to submit information to the tax office, will affect the assessment rates is still uncertain, EY said. The newly determined amounts will only apply from January 1, 2025. "For so long it is uncertain how the forthcoming property tax reform will affect the income situation of the individual municipalities, even if there is a political consensus that there should not be a serious additional burden on citizens overall," stressed Schneider.
