Turnov is going to increase real estate tax from 2022 due to a drop in revenue from shared taxes. The increase of the coefficient from 2.0 to 2.4 was approved by the city council, but the decision is up to the city representatives. If the amendment to the generally binding decree in this form is approved at the end of June, the city will receive an additional approximately CZK 4.3 million, according to mayor Tomáš Hocke (Independent Bloc).
“In reality, this means that, for example, for a 65-square-meter apartment, the tax will be increased from CZK 364 to 437 per year. For a family house with 100 square meters of built-up area, it is roughly from CZK 770 to 924 per year,” Hocke said. The city now collects about CZK 21.7 million a year in real estate tax, the last time the amount of this tax in Turnov changed in 2012.
According to the mayor, the reason why the city wants to increase the property tax is the fall in revenue from shared taxes, which was caused by two factors at the national level. “The first is the economic crisis caused by coronavirus and the second is the abolition of the super-gross wage,” the mayor said. According to him, the city lost CZK 20 to 25 million in revenue annually. This is about a tenth of the originally expected tax revenues for this year, now the town hall counts on the amount of CZK 180 million.
According to the mayor, they first looked for savings in the city budget. “We have reduced the operating contributions of our contributory organizations and trading companies by five percent, we have reduced the city’s subsidy fund by 20 percent, we have reduced working hours at the city office, we have reduced the contract for the maintenance of the city and city greenery,” he said. City Hall also saves on investments. “We’re just doing what we started doing last year, or what we have subsidies for or what people contribute to us when we buy land – networking or roads,” Hocke said. But savings in the city budget are not enough, according to him. “Unfortunately, the economy is not growing, as everyone tells us, at least it is not visible on tax revenues,” the mayor added.
Source: CTK
