The state parliament in North Rhine-Westphalia has finally decided to abolish road construction contributions

The North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament has finally abolished the long-controversial road construction contributions for property owners. With the votes of the black-green government coalition and the AfD, a corresponding amendment to the Local Rates Act was passed on Wednesday. From January 1, 2024, contributions may no longer be levied for road construction measures.

Road construction contributions had already been effectively suspended in NRW since the beginning of 2018. The CDU and FDP government factions at the time had introduced a funding guideline that compensated residents 100 percent from the state. This measure has already relieved property owners of more than 91 million euros.

According to the state government, the complete abolition of contributions should provide more legal certainty and reduce the administrative burden on local authorities. There have been years of opposition to the contributions, including protests and vigils in front of the state parliament, as well as an initiative by the Taxpayers' Association with over 437,000 signatures.

The SPD and FDP abstained from the vote. They criticized the 2018 deadline for the reimbursement of contributions as unfair and called for a hardship fund for cases between 2014 and 2017 to prevent situations that threaten the existence of the company.

Source: NTV