Erfurt (dpa/th) - Shortly before the deadline, three quarters of the expected property tax returns were received in Thuringia. A total of 937,315 declarations have been sent to the tax offices so far, the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday in Erfurt on request. The proportion of declarations submitted electronically is around 86 percent. According to the ministry, property owners have to submit a total of 1.25 million property tax returns.
The country, but also other large property owners, have timetables by when they have to file all declarations, according to the ministry. State authorities should be finished preparing the final declarations in February. The Thuringian tax offices would now send reminders to defaulting property owners. Should that not be successful, the tax authorities would estimate the tax bases in a further step.
Thuringia's Finance Minister Heike Taubert (SPD) said that the deadline for property tax returns would have no effect on Thuringia. In principle, an extension of the deadline is only possible in agreement with the other states that, like Thuringia, implement the federal model for property tax. Taubert: "Thuringia itself does not support any further extension of the deadline."
She is very satisfied with the current declaration receipt of 75 percent, said the minister. A further extension of the deadline would not lead to a quick improvement in the quota and would not reduce the administrative burden either. Rather, the downstream work in the tax office would have to be completed in a shorter period of time, which in turn could be at the expense of the municipalities and cities. The risk of a tax shortfall for the municipalities could then not be ruled out.
Bavaria announced that it would unilaterally extend the deadline for filing property tax returns. Property owners should have three months more time, i.e. until the end of April, said Bavarian Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU).
