How Financial Management Saved the Day for Gitta Ravn
During the second half of 2023, Gitta Ravn found herself in a sticky situation where, on paper, she was liable for her neighbors’ taxes. However, a solution was found to alleviate her worries.
Previously, before January 1st of this year, it was the responsibility of the municipality to collect property tax. Upon learning of the issue on Guldrankevej, Odense Municipality stepped in to help distribute the taxes among neighbors.
- Instead of bearing the entire burden, all residents in the area paid property tax based on the size of their plots.
- As a result, Gitta Ravn only had to pay around 3,000 kroner instead of the full amount of 57,000 kroner.
- Odense Municipality aimed to assist the homeowner at Guldrankevej 54, Gitta Ravn, who would have otherwise been charged property tax for herself and all other owners on Guldrankevej.
The municipality acknowledged the unfairness of the situation and actively sought a fair distribution of expenses, as stated by the Mayor’s Office in a message to DR.
When Top Officials Get Involved
However, the municipality’s “fair distribution” approach did not have legal grounds. The correspondence between the municipality and the Valuation Agency revealed how the municipality arrived at this conclusion.
By early June, DR News had already covered several stories about Gitta Ravn’s predicament. Just four days after DR News submitted its inquiries, a top official and member of the leadership in the Ministry of Taxation called one of the top officials in Odense Municipality.
This conversation took place on June 3rd, as confirmed by the municipality in an email to DR. The discussion between department head Jens Daugaard and the former city director was of a general informative nature, driven by the ministry’s interest in the matter.
No telephone notes were prepared, and the then-city director Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen declined to comment for this article. In a written response, the Ministry of Taxation confirmed that they had been in ‘dialogue with Odense Municipality’.
“It is a natural part of our work to discuss tax issues with our stakeholders regularly. This also applies to the implementation of the new property valuation system, where we are in close dialogue with the Danish Municipalities Association and municipalities,” the ministry stated.
Director Steps In
While no documents were created regarding the tax authority’s initial inquiry into the matter, there is a long paper trail documenting the subsequent developments. On June 5th, a director in Odense Municipality submitted a report to the Valuation Agency, as evidenced by documents obtained by DR News.
The day before, the Valuation Agency had contacted the municipality for the first time about the issue, as stated in an email to DR. In the email, the municipality explained why they assisted in splitting the taxes on Guldrankevej.
“Odense Municipality’s approach to being helpful should be seen as a desire to demonstrate proper conduct in our handling of the current case,” the municipality wrote.