Burden-Sharing Levy at Everyone’s Expense
Crisis, crisis, crisis – who is going to finance our next crisis?
The past few years have unmistakably been years of crisis felt by almost everyone. Financially and emotionally, the effects and consequences of the “refugee crisis”, the “coronavirus crisis”, the “financial crisis”, inflation and the economic crisis are still being grappled with today. The acute political situation, with armed hostilities in Eastern Europe that have taken on overtones of long-bygone eras, adds further uncertainty. Entrenched fronts, a moderate energy crisis and renewed flows of refugees are placing a considerable burden on the population and on public finances.
Even during the pandemic, enormous sums were raised by the legislature to cushion or defer supposed dangers and economic damage. But how – and above all from where – are the many further billions now supposed to come that are needed for victims of disease, rescuing the economy, military aid and the energy crisis?
The suspicion is obvious. This time, too, the financial hole – thanks to the government’s free-spending ways – will once again be borne by the taxpayer, or rather will affect all those who can supposedly “afford” a further financial burden. When Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) first put the term “Lastenausgleich” (burden-sharing levy) into circulation in 2020, he fuelled the debate about an impending “compulsory taxation” of property owners. Ever since, the rumours on the subject have not let up, and with each further crisis people’s fear for their homes and land intensifies. Whether the burden-sharing levy will come, and in what guise, is currently still open. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to start thinking today about what options exist to protect one’s own assets.
Burden-Sharing Levy – Origin and History
The unimaginable destruction of the Second World War made it necessary after 1945 to provide funds to support those harmed by the war and displaced persons. With the introduction of the Lastenausgleichsgesetz of 1952 (Burden-Sharing Levy Act), it became possible for displaced persons, late returnees and all Germans who had to contend with war losses to receive compensation for their losses.
The financing of this compensation was levied on those who were little or not affected. Under the so-called expropriation law in Germany, every German who owned real estate was obliged to pay a capital levy of 1.6% for 30 years on a property value determined in 1948. Comparable approaches would, of course, also be conceivable today to cover the enormous costs and compensation owed to those “harmed” in recent years.
Rumours About the Burden-Sharing Levy in 2024
We Support You in Securing Your Assets
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