Municipal taxes
Utilities are public charges that a municipality, a county, a community association or another municipal embossed administrative support from within their administrative area may require natural persons resident or business and you accrue (survey sovereignty and raise revenue ).
Local tax is a generic term that is further differentiated in municipal taxes , fees , contributions and municipal taxes of its own. For a more detailed design of the federal states each have local tax laws enacted (CISA).
Local taxes
- The municipalities are entitled to the revenue from trade tax and property tax .
- The municipalities are also involved in income tax and sales tax through the tax association according to Article 106, Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 5a of the Basic Law . These are not collected independently by the municipalities, but are allocated to the municipalities by the respective state from the state budget via the municipal financial equalization scheme.
- The municipalities have their own limited right to determine taxes ; According to Article 106, Paragraph 6 of the Basic Law, the municipalities can introduce and raise local consumption and expense taxes themselves through their statutes . The framework for this is set by the federal states in the municipal tax law. The most important such taxes are the dog tax , the playground equipment tax and the second home tax . In January 2020, the city of Tübingen became the first municipality in Germany to launch a new type of tax on disposable packaging.
Municipal fees
Municipal fees are cash payments for a specific consideration. They are further differentiated into administrative fees for official acts or other administrative activities and user fees for the use of public facilities (cf. § 4 KAG NW).
Examples:
- Administrative fee: issuing an identity card
- Usage fee: fresh water fees , waste water fees .
Entrance fees for the municipal swimming pool are usually fees under private law.
Municipal contributions
Contributions are a cash payment for the reimbursement of expenses for the construction, acquisition and expansion of public facilities and systems (cf. § 8 Paragraph 2 KAG NW). The contribution is raised for the specific creation or improvement of a facility or facility (ongoing maintenance must not be included in a contribution). It is sufficient that the contributor has the opportunity to use this facility or facility. Actual use is not required. This separates the contribution from the fee (actual use).
Example 1: Development contribution according to the Building Code (BauGB) - the municipality develops a building area with public roads, supply and disposal systems. In this way, it improves the property value of the adjacent private property and can levy a development contribution from the residents, regardless of whether they use the public facilities created or not.
Example 2: Production contribution according to the Municipal Tax Act - The municipality builds a sewerage system (with sewage treatment plant and other ancillary systems) for a traditionally built-up area and does not collect a production contribution from all users of this system, but only from the property owners in accordance with the investment expenditure. This obvious violation of the principle of equal treatment is legally justified with the help of the Municipal Tax Act. There it is stipulated that only those property owners are liable to pay contributions "to whom the possibility of using these facilities offers special advantages"; However, since the legislature has failed to determine what a “special” advantage is, the municipalities (with the support of the courts) make the majority of property owners liable for contributions. Lately, especially in eastern Germany, this has affected many homeowners, some of them threatening their very existence, whose properties are not suitable for generating income, for example through renting or business.
Local taxes of their own kind
This includes all municipal taxes that cannot be clearly assigned to the categories of taxes, fees and contributions.
Example: visitor's tax - mixed form between fee and contribution. Tourist tax is charged regardless of whether the tourist facilities are used. On the other hand, tourism facilities can be used specifically, cf. § 43 Municipal Tax Act Baden-Württemberg Tourist tax .
Collection of local taxes
For the collection of a municipal tax, there must be a legal basis in the form of a law and a local statute , which must specify the group of debtors, the payment, the scale, the rate of the tax and the due date. With regard to the procedure, the local tax laws refer to the tax code .
For a communal cemetery fee, for example, a communal cemetery fee statute must be available, which specifies in detail who has to pay what, when and what. With regard to the procedure for the specific collection of the fee, the respective municipal tax law and also the tax code must be consulted.
