Danish tax minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt held a press conference on Monday after it emerged that around 100,000 final property valuations of owner-occupied apartments were calculated incorrectly.
The error affects all of the final 2022 valuations that Vurderingsstyrelsen sent out around the turn of the year, DR reports. The tax authorities have known about the problem for several months. The case only became public after DR Nyheder asked questions about it.
Engel-Schmidt, of the Moderates, addressed the case at a press conference on September 7. According to TV 2 Nyheder, the minister wants to change the system behind property valuations. TV 2 also reports that Vurderingsstyrelsen has been aware of the problem since the spring.
Scale of the error
As reported by BT, the mistake stems from an error in Vurderingsstyrelsen’s valuation model. The affected valuations cover about one third of all owner-occupied flats in Denmark.
BT further reports that Vurderingsstyrelsen halted the remaining valuations once the error was discovered. Around 200,000 final 2022 valuations for owner-occupied apartments were not sent out earlier this year.
In roughly 20,000 of the 100,000 affected apartments, the valuation deviates by more than plus or minus 20 percent from what is considered acceptable, according to BT. Twenty percent is the maximum error margin agreed politically for the valuation system.
Vurderingsstyrelsen’s director, Anne-Sofie Jensen, describes the error as regrettable, per BT. She states that for the large majority of the affected properties, the consequences are expected to be limited.
The valuations from Vurderingsstyrelsen form the basis for Danish property taxes. Similar disputes over how valuations are calculated have surfaced before, including the case of Bornholm property tax being tied to Copenhagen prices.
DR is covering the press conference in a live blog written by reporter Emil Søndergård Ingvorsen. The broadcaster says the minister used the appearance to give further details about the case. No revised valuations had been announced at the time of the press conference.
