New property tax evaluation system by 2015

A new law proposal means that homeowners could see up to five percent lower property evaluations until a new system is ready in 2015

admin

Nov 22, 2013

Homeowners who have paid an incorrect amount in property tax due to evaluation errors by the Tax Ministry will have to wait until 2015 for a new evaluation system.

The tax minister, Holger K Nielsen (SF), said that the government has proposed a new law that would extend the 2011 property tax evaluations through to 2013 and 2014.

“We will suspend the 2013 evaluation and continue using the 2011 property tax evaluation. We’ll take 2.5 percent off that evaluation just to be safe, in deference to the homeowners who have had to pay too much,” Nielsen told DR Nyheder.

Enhedslisten an ally
A number of parties have argued that the tax authorities should take ten percent off the property tax, but Nielsen said that would not be fair.

“That would mean that all homeowners would get ten percent off, also the ones who have paid too little and the ones who have not been affected [by the errors],” Nielsen said. “That’s irresponsible and financially antisocial.”

But while a large part of the opposition stepped away from the negotiations over a new evaluation system, the government did find an ally in left-wing party Enhedslisten.

“We’ve spoken with Enhedslisten and they are ready to support this law,” Nielsen said.

New system by 2015
A completely revamped property tax evaluation system, which will give more precise evaluations, is expected to be finished in 2015 and a group of experts will hand in a report with their suggestions on a new system sometime during 2014.

”This is temporary. We will make a permanent law next year about the future system, which still needs to be negotiated,” Nielsen said.

The tax issues were revealed in August when a scathing report from Rigsrevision, the national auditor's office, criticised tax authorities for a host of errors in property tax evaluations.

The report found that property tax estimates were wrong in three out of four assessments dating back to 2003 and that four out of ten homeowners were assessed a too-high property tax in 2011.