On Friday, the Bundestag passed the annual tax law with extensive tax changes. There are reliefs, for example, for solar systems, for employees and in housing construction. Mineral oil companies are to make a temporary contribution to the "energy crisis". A transfer of real estate assets through inheritance and gifts could become more expensive. The Federal Council still has to approve the law.
Energy Crisis Post
Companies in the oil, gas, coal and refinery industries, which are making billions in profits due to the consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and rising energy prices, are to make an "energy crisis contribution" - limited to the financial years 2022 and 2023. Profits that Profits that exceed the average profit by 20 percent compared to previous years are taxed at 33 percent.
Presumably against this background, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wrote on Twitter that the annual tax law contains mainly good news, but also some "downer". He doesn't want to talk about an "excess profit tax," which he had long rejected. But the law says: "The EU energy crisis contribution is a tax within the meaning of the tax code." The measure is intended to bring the federal government additional revenue of one billion euros.
The financial policy spokeswoman for the Greens parliamentary group, Katharina Beck, explained that the participation of oil companies with their excess profits in the costs of the crisis was an "important sign of justice and solidarity". "Half a year ago nobody would have believed that we would decide that as a traffic light." The Greens would have preferred a higher tax rate than the minimum of 33 percent required by the EU, but this was not possible in the coalition.
Relief for employees and single parents
The tax relief amount for single parents will be increased from EUR 4008 to EUR 4260 per year. Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) spoke of an important building block to support single parents. "Despite working, many single parents find it difficult to secure a secure existence for themselves and their children. Further support is necessary, also to cushion the burden of increased energy prices and inflation."
There are further reliefs through increases in the savings allowance, the training allowance and the employee allowance.
The regulations for a home office will be simplified and the home office flat rate will be increased. Since the corona pandemic, many employees have been working from home instead of in the office. Often, however, the prerequisites for deducting the expenses for a home office were not met. For this reason, a temporary home office flat rate was introduced in 2020. This lump sum is now being increased. In future there will be a daily flat rate of 6 euros for a maximum of 210 days. The maximum taxable amount is therefore 1260 euros per year. In the future, there will also be an annual fee of 1260 euros for everyone who has a study at home and no workplace at the company. This should save those affected a lot of "paperwork".
housing and energy policy
The annual tax law should give a new impetus for new housing construction, which has started to stutter, said SPD MP Bernhard Daldrup in the Bundestag. In concrete terms, linear depreciation on residential buildings will be increased from two to three percent. A new edition of the special depreciation is intended to promote affordable and climate-friendly new rental housing.
Taxpayers should be able to fully deduct their pension contributions from next year, two years earlier than originally planned. This is intended to be a first step in avoiding a long-term risk of double taxation of pensions.
The energy price flat rate for pensioners and pension recipients in the amount of 300 euros, like the flat rate for employed persons, is fully subject to taxation. Taxation is based on the individual tax rate. This creates a social balance, since taxation is dependent on income, as can be seen from a letter to the members of the SPD parliamentary group.
The expansion of renewable energies should get a strong boost with tax breaks for solar systems, as Green MP Stefan Schmidt said. Anyone who has a small photovoltaic system on the roof of their house will be exempt from income taxes, retrospectively as of January 1, 2022. In addition, many tax declaration obligations will be eliminated.
appraisal of real estate
Changes in real estate valuations could result in higher inheritance or gift tax for larger assets. The new regulation goes back to a decision of the Federal Constitutional Court. The taxpayers' association criticized the fact that allowances would not be increased at the same time. However, there remains the possibility of proving a lower value with the help of an expert opinion. Bavaria has already advocated an increase in tax allowances in the Bundesrat. The FDP showed willingness to do so.
Lindner said in the SWR "Interview of the Week" that when evaluating real estate, he had to follow a regulation that was still the responsibility of the former Minister of Construction Horst Seehofer (CSU). He accused the Union parties of scaremongering. There is no "widespread tax increase orgy" to be feared.
Direct Payouts
The annual tax law is also intended to create the legal basis for a direct payment of public support services, namely via the tax identification number. In the future, this should enable a simple and unbureaucratic payment method, for example for the planned climate money. In a first step, the account numbers for taxpayers not previously contained in the identification number database are to be collected and stored.
