The federal state of Sachsen Anhalt decided to increase the real estate transfer tax (RETT) rate from 3.5% to 4.5% effective 1 March 2010. The tax increase affects real estate situated in the state of Sachsen Anhalt that is transferred by way of a sale or in a reorganization or acquisition. Until 2006, a uniform RETT rate of 3.5% applied throughout Germany, but an amendment to the Constitution gave the federal states the authority to set the RETT rate themselves. As a result, the rate can vary from one federal state to another. Sachsen Anhalt is the third state to increase the RETT rate to 4.5%, following Hamburg (1 January 2009) and Berlin (1 January 2007).
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