Hesse is paying millions for the empty tax office in Wiesbaden!

Hesse is paying millions for the empty tax office in Wiesbaden!

The state of Hesse has been paying rent for the empty former tax office in Wiesbaden for over two years, while the building has an uncertain future. The rent has now increased to 3.7 million euros per year. Use of the building is still not in sight, and the renovation of the high-rise building, which is in dire need of renovation, is also still pending. The approximately 700 tax officials have already moved into a newly rented building at the end of 2022.

The rental agreement for the Schiersteiner Berg government center, which was negotiated for 30 years by the then CDU-led state government in 2005, does not provide for any exceptions if the building can no longer be used due to the need for renovation. The annual rental costs rose by 300,000 euros in 2023, which will increase the state's previous total expenditure on the empty tax office to around 7.5 million euros. It can also be observed that the vacancy rate for all properties used by the country is around two percent, says hessenschau.de.

The problem of vacant properties

In 2003, a total of 55 buildings for ministries and authorities in Hesse were privatized and then rented back. The resulting proceeds were around two billion euros, which helped the state government save interest on additional debt. However, there was only minimal preparation for the necessary investments for the interior renovation, and the expectations of the state government at the time that the properties would be worthless after the leases expired were not fulfilled.

The changes caused by digitalization, job relocations and home offices were unforeseeable and led to structural adjustments in the Hessian tax administration. Since 2018, the tax administration has been reforming its structures and has outsourced more and more tasks to rural regions. The merger of the two Wiesbaden tax offices took place in October 2022, which ultimately made the old tax office headquarters, which was considered in need of renovation and could no longer be economically modernized, unnecessary.

Current developments and criticism

The new accommodation for the tax offices was found at Abraham Lincoln Park and meets the increased requirements, while the majority of the old tax office building has been empty since the move - only around 5 percent is still occupied. The annual rental costs amount to 3.4 million euros, with the contract running until the end of 2035. Plans to renovate the old office were originally discussed, but were abandoned after OFB Projektentwicklung GmbH bought the area and presented a master plan for the district development under the title “Seven Gardens”.

However, plans for the demolition and construction of the old tax office building had to be interrupted at the end of 2023. The increase in construction prices and the increase in financing due to the war in Ukraine made the project uneconomical. The Taxpayers' Association criticizes the high costs for the empty building and calls for an economical solution for the almost unused property taxpayer-hessen.de is reported.

In view of the financial burden that the state of Hesse is suffering from the rent for the empty high-rise and the associated renovation plans, it remains to be seen how those responsible will react to the critical situation.