Court: Doubts about the constitutionality of property tax
The Rhineland-Palatinate Fiscal Court has fundamental doubts about the constitutionality of the statutory valuation rules for the new property tax. The court in Neustadt/Wstr. announced on Monday that it had serious doubts as to "whether the provisions of the Valuation Act are at all suitable for achieving a property valuation that is in line with reality and relations".
The highest tax court in the federal state thus ruled in favor of two applicants in summary proceedings, suspended the enforcement of their property tax assessment notices and allowed an appeal to the Federal Fiscal Court "due to the fundamental importance" of the case and to ensure uniform case law - due to the deviation from a ruling by the Saxon Fiscal Court.
One case concerned an unrenovated detached house built in 1880 with a living space of 72 square meters. Here, the tax office had set the property tax value at 91,600 euros. The second case concerned a detached house with a living space of 178 square meters, which was built in 1977 ready for occupancy. Although it was on a slope and only accessible via a private road, the tax office set the property tax value at EUR 318,800. However, the tax court in Neustadt expressed "serious doubts about both the legality of the individual assessments under simple law and the constitutionality of the underlying valuation rules".
Above all, the court has doubts as to whether the standard land values, which played a decisive role in the valuation, were arrived at lawfully, including, for example, with regard to the legally required independence of the expert committees - here, "the possibility of influence cannot be ruled out".
The tax court also criticized the fact that taxpayers do not have the opportunity to prove that the value of their property is lower than the standard land value - for example with a counter-appraisal, which is not provided for.
The presiding judge at the tax court, Barbara Weiß, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the decisions concerned two individual cases - a final decision on the constitutionality of the valuation rules is still pending. The court spokeswoman emphasized that a decision by the Federal Fiscal Court, which is certainly aware of the explosive nature of the case, is expected in the near future.
The tax office issues two assessments on the basis of the owners' declarations: Property tax assessment notice and property tax assessment notice. They form the basis for the assessment of property tax by the local authorities. The new property tax is to apply from the beginning of 2025.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, a total of around 2.5 million properties will have to be revalued. In November, the Ministry of Finance in Mainz announced that almost 279,000 appeals had been lodged against property tax assessment notices in the federal state.
Given the ongoing disputes regarding the constitutionality of the valuation rules for the new property tax in Rhineland-Palatinate, questions surrounding the intersection of 'Justice' and 'Finances' arise. For instance, should the financial burden of property tax be deemed just if the valuation methods are deemed unconstitutional? Moreover, in addressing these concerns, the 'Real estate' sector may also require special consideration, as the valuation of properties plays a crucial role in determining property tax liabilities.
Source: www.dpa.com
