Tax due

“Please pay”: mail from the mayor to everyone

Innsbruck

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Around 8.8 percent of all apartments in Innsbruck are vacant, which is around 3,500. However, due to the General Data Protection Regulation, it is not known who the 3,500 vacant apartments in Innsbruck belong to. The mayor has therefore sent a letter to all Innsbruck residents.

Now the time has come: Innsbruck residents who own an apartment that has been empty for more than six months will be asked to pay. 1700 euros for the year 2023 for 80 square meters - to give you an idea of the costs. However, the primary aim is not to collect levies, as BM Georg Willi (Greens) explains, but to ensure that more apartments are rented out. At the moment, neither is happening: 3523 vacant apartments (approx. 8.8 percent of all apartments in Innsbruck) have so far (as reported) only 23 tax payers - there is still time to pay until April.

The housing market in Innsbruck is completely overheated, creating noticeable relief is complex.

BM Georg Willi (Grüne)

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Mayor wants the legal situation changed
Due to the General Data Protection Regulation, it is not permitted to use a register query to find out who is not paying. A reminder letter sent by the mayor (plus a reference to the state's "Secure Renting" project) was therefore sent to all households. According to the election campaigning mayor, this is due to the ÖVP, which does not want to change the law on data collection in this respect. A vacancy tax is currently being introduced by the federal government - it remains to be seen whether this will be more effective. Those who do not pay, even though they should, will get away with it without any consequences, provided they are not caught. Otherwise, they could be fined.

The fact that the owners' lobby has threatened to take legal action against the vacancy tax doesn't even make Willi bat an eyelid - he is certain that it will hold up legally. "The housing market in Innsbruck is completely overheated, creating noticeable relief is complex," explains Willi.