According to the CSL statement, the planned reform lacks ambition and risks failing to help fend off the unfolding housing crisis.
Nevertheless, the CSL supports the new property evaluation system, which it says “should make it possible to assign to each taxable parcel a base value that reflects the corresponding property value with sufficient accuracy”.
When it comes to the partial de-taxation of main residences, the Chamber would have preferred to see an an allowance per dwelling instead of an allowance per taxpayer-resident.
The statement further emphasises that “the accumulation of allowances and its limits result in a regressive taxation that treats owners of single-family houses more favourably than those of flats. This approach should not only be rejected from a social point of view, but it is also in contradiction with the urban densification efforts pursued in the framework of spatial planning.”
One of the main points of criticism from the CSL revolves around the absence of a progressive taxation of real estate assets, which they say can be used to limit commercial and speculative behaviour in favour of “better circulation of capital, an optimisation of use of goods, and a dynamic management of real estate assets”.
According to the CSL, this strategy might further help the real estate market bounce back from the unfolding crisis.
