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The municipal council of Diekirch has decided to increase property tax to 15,000% for certain types of land.
The remarkable increase will take place as of January 1 2021 and applies to land in the B6 category, which is land proposed for the purpose of building housing (buildable land). The property tax on B6 land is already set at 750%, but will increase twentyfold by the beginning of the next year.
The decision, which is sure to incite heated discussions, is caused by a desire on the part of the municipal authorities to fight against speculation on what constitutes buildable land. Mayor Claude Haagen told the Tageblatt that the municipality wants to obtain 'concrete results' at this point and time with a lack of property on the housing market.
The objective of the twentyfold increase is not to strip more money from landowners, but to incentivise them to be clearer with projects and planning and to be aware of the differences between beginning a development and continuing to leave their land not yet built upon.
Haagen provided the following example to reveal the logic behind the decision: someone currently paying €190 in an annual property tax for a plot of land which could be built upon, but remains empty, will have to pay €3,800 a year as of 2021. The decision could consequently lead landowners to act differently.
