Offenbach ⋅ The outrage at the increase in the property tax rate from 600 to 995 percentage points in 2019 should still be well remembered by local politicians. Even the hint that the cash-strapped city had no other option to submit a budget that would be approved by the municipal financial supervisory authority did little to mitigate the anger of those affected at the time. The assessment rate was soon reduced by 100 points by the later replaced coalition of CDU, Greens, FDP and Free Voters. But the new coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP also knows that citizens are following the reform of property taxes enforced by the Federal Constitutional Court very closely.
Treasurer Martin Wilhelm (SPD) has therefore publicly assured that the coalition does not want to use the required recalculation to improve the city’s still tense financial situation. This is to be achieved by relocating promising companies, as has just been the case with Samson AG and Biospring. But strict savings will also continue to play a major role, especially since the newly acquired companies will initially invest many millions in the new location and pay little trade tax.
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