The German Association for the Protection of Home Builders (BSB) criticizes the fact that consumers have to take on huge debts to build a house and that soon only the rich will be able to afford it. Some consumers have already postponed their plans indefinitely or do not want to realize them at all. The BSB therefore welcomes the real estate transfer tax reform announced by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. As a result of this reform, certain groups of buyers may no longer have to pay tax in the future.
"The BSB welcomes the Finance Minister's reform proposal to relieve the burden on owner-occupiers when purchasing their first property," says BSB Managing Director Florian Becker. However, the legislative initiative needs to be implemented quickly, as the trend in the number of building permits is declining sharply. "If we don't take swift and decisive countermeasures, the decades-long promise of home ownership can no longer be kept," says Florian Becker.
The BSB has also presented a proposal on what the land transfer tax reform should look like in order to provide relief for house builders with average incomes: the so-called "social graduation" model. In this model, the land transfer tax would depend on the purchase price. No tax would be payable on the first 200,000 euros, 3 percent tax would be levied on the second 200,000 euros and 6 percent tax on the third 200,000 euros. After that, 8 percent tax would apply.
Source and further information: bsb-ev.de
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