德国各城市房产税差距巨大：部分地区出现“大幅加税”

Core Insights - The new property tax reform in Germany, effective from January 2023, has led to significant disparities in property tax amounts across different cities, with some cities experiencing increases of several hundred euros annually [3] Group 1: Tax Disparities - The property tax in Zwickau, Saxony, is the lowest among major cities at only 258 euros per year, while Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg has the highest tax at 1,377 euros annually [3] - There is a stark contrast in tax amounts between states, with an average annual tax of 305 euros for single-family homes in Saxony-Anhalt compared to 850 euros in Berlin [3] Group 2: Reform Background - The disparities arise from the outdated "uniform assessment value" system, which was deemed invalid by the Constitutional Court in 2018, prompting the new property tax reform to be fully implemented by 2025 [3] - Different federal states have adopted various tax models, with five states (Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavaria) using their own models based on land area and value, while the remaining eleven states use a federal model based on hypothetical rental income and land value [3] Group 3: Criticism and Recommendations - The property owners' association Haus & Grund has criticized the reform for creating an unpredictable and unfair tax burden due to the combination of state models and city-specific tax rates [3] - The association advocates for a nationwide uniform model, suggesting the adoption of either the Bavarian or Lower Saxony model, citing that Baden-Württemberg's value-oriented model has led to unprecedented declines in rankings [3] Group 4: Overall Tax Trends - Half of the federal states are projected to see an increase in property taxes, with an average rise of 46 euros per year across the 100 surveyed cities [3] - States such as Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Rheinland-Pfalz, and Saarland are among those expected to have higher taxes in 2025 compared to 2024 [3]