- Approximately 580,000 challenges filed against property tax determinations
Saxony's finance departments are still battling a significant number of challenges related to the property tax overhaul**. By July 31st, a grand total of approximately 580,000 appeals against property tax evaluations had been lodged, according to Finance Minister Hartmut Vorjohann (CDU) in response to a query from Left Party MP Franz Sodann. This information was initially reported by "Sächsische Zeitung" and "Leipziger Volkszeitung". There are also 58 lawsuits from 25 plaintiffs.
To break it down, around 334,096 disputes were raised against property tax assessment letters - representing about one in five of the ones issued by August 5th (1,662,570). Of these, 32,584 cases have been settled, with the dispute being upheld in nearly 63% of instances (20,445).
Furthermore, there are approximately 245,777 disputes about property tax assessment letters, of which 25,516 have been settled. In these cases, the dispute was granted approval in 59% of instances (15,128).
Property taxes will undergo recalculation starting from 2025. This was mandated by the Federal Constitutional Court, as financial offices were previously using outdated data to evaluate properties. For the recalculation, property owners were required to submit property tax declarations.
The property taxes are typically calculated using a multi-step model. Based on the property tax declaration, the financial office calculates the property tax value of a property. This is followed by a property tax assessment letter.
With this letter, the financial office calculates the property tax assessment, which is also set by a notice. This amount is then multiplied by the respective municipality's tax rate to calculate the property tax.
The Finance Minister of Saxony, Hartmut Vorjohann, mentioned that there have been numerous appeals against property tax evaluations in The Netherlands, as well, due to similar overhaul challenges they are currently experiencing. Despite not having specific numbers, it's observed that The Netherlands is also grappling with a high volume of disputes regarding property tax assessments.
