Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The NRW Ministry of Finance is increasing the staff for processing the new property tax by advertising 150 additional positions in the tax offices. "With the additional new colleagues, we are offering more service and better accessibility. At the same time, we are relieving our colleagues in the offices," explained Finance Minister Marcus Optendrenk (CDU) on Wednesday in Düsseldorf. According to the information provided, the job advertisements will be posted online in the next week on the career portal of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and on finanzverwaltung.nrw.de.
The German tax union NRW had previously called for 300 additional employees in the state's financial administration in view of the property tax reform. In her view, the need for advice had previously been completely underestimated. Since the start of the process on July 1, the tax authorities have received an "avalanche of" inquiries. Many of those who were contacted also vented their displeasure during the phone calls. According to the union, employees are currently being withdrawn from other departments for the property tax hotline. However, more employees are needed in the long term.
The new NRW finance minister pointed out that technical upgrades had been carried out in the past few weeks. The offers of help have also been significantly expanded, for example with explanatory videos and click-through instructions on grundsteuer.nrw.de. In anticipation of the work on the property tax reform, NRW has hired more than 300 additional government employees on a permanent basis in recent years. There are currently 825 full-time jobs in the property offices. In March 2022, an additional 125 positions were made available for temporary staff to absorb work peaks in the start-up phase.
