That's not much consolation for annoyed owners.
But at least the finance ministers are recognizing with the three-month extension of the deadline for the new property tax return what they are asking real estate owners to do with the complicated reform.
As necessary as this is, and with it a revaluation of 38 million plots of land and buildings, it was just as outrageous to give citizens just six months to submit current data as a prerequisite for the recalculation - and thus to want to catch up with the delays that Politics and treasury are responsible.
After the constitutional ruling in 2018, which rejected the outdated municipal property tax with a deadline of 2024, the federal and state governments took their time with the legislation and the technical procedures.
Apparently, the administration itself believed what was previously stated on the website of the Federal Ministry of Finance: "In the future, only a few relatively easy-to-determine parameters will be included in the calculation of property tax."
The reality looks different.
The state gambled away the favor of taxpayers.