Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The FDP parliamentary group fears that digitization will be given less importance in the new black-green state government. The deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group, Ralf Witzel, criticized the change in the department for digitization from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to the Ministry of Construction, Municipal Affairs and Homeland on Tuesday.
For the Liberals it is "objectively incomprehensible" where there is a substantive connection. At its core, digitization belongs in the economic or financial sector. When it comes to construction alone, the responsible minister, Ina Scharrenbach (CDU), has "immense pressure to act," said finance politician Witzel. "It is questionable whether digitization is still important." In the previous department in the Ministry of Economics, 66 people were involved with the digitization strategy of the state administration.
The FDP expects the new state government to make further progress in modernizing and digitizing financial management. The parliamentary group made a major inquiry with more than 130 questions. The desire for electronic service offers is continuously increasing, said Witzel. The recognition of digital documents and their transmission must be made easier. More people should voluntarily participate in digital tax returns. On the other hand, it must also be accepted that there are parts of the population for whom the electronic tax return poses a major challenge and who therefore prefer the paper form.
With the future property tax declaration, the FDP criticized the fact that older taxpayers did not have the opportunity to do this on paper in the same way. Millions of house, apartment and property owners have to submit a property tax return by the end of October at the latest, usually electronically via the Elster platform - with data such as the number of the plot, year of construction, living space and standard land value. Many would now have to contact a tax advisor, also because the procedure is very complex, said Witzel.
NRW is in the "upper midfield" when it comes to digital progress in financial management, said the FDP financial expert. The most populous federal state still has some catching up to do compared to Bavaria.
