ifo Media Center
The ifo Institute invites you to participate in the discussion of interesting economic topics via the Internet. In our ifo Media Center a whole series of remarkable events are available and can be viewed in full length. We also record selected speeches and presentations given by employees or at events and make them available in our Media Center.
ifo Viewpoint No. 209: Reform of Property Tax Is Unnecessarily Complicated
Following lengthy negotiations, the federal and state governments in Germany have agreed to a reform of property tax, and the Bundestag has now enacted the reform. The debate centered on two concepts: an area-based tax and a value-based one. In the end, it was agreed to use value as the basis for measurement.
ifo Viewpoint No. 195: Germany Should Adopt an Area-Based Property Tax
Germany’s Constitutional Court has declared the current property tax as unconstitutional because it is based on property values that are decades old, ultimately resulting in an arbitrary distribution of the tax burden among taxpayers. The Court explained that a property tax does not necessarily need to be based on real estate values. If, however, the tax is based on the value of plots and houses, sufficiently up-to-date values need to be used, and changes over time need to be taken into account.
