hsp captain Paul Liese is using the first livestream of the month to share news from hsp headquarters. The focus is mainly on the Opti.Tax software, version 22.0.24 of which is being demonstrated. This version is currently in the final stages of development.
Release 22.0.24 focuses entirely on the topic of appeals. For the demonstration, Paul switches to the screen view. We’ll start with the project view. The sample project folder contains a number of projects that have been sent. Paul now right-clicks on a project that has been sent. The context menu now displays, amongst other options, the item „Lodge an objection“. Clicking on this menu item opens a dialogue box. This displays details of the plot of land, the reference number and the client’s name. It is also possible to enter details of an authorised representative.
If no authorised recipient has been specified in the project, none will be suggested when you enter the details. However, if an authorised recipient has been entered, this will also be displayed as an option. If you click „Next“ in the dialogue box, the window for selecting the objection documents will appear. A list already contains suggested documents that are recorded as attachments in the project. However, you can also manually add other or additional required documents from the file system. These should always be PDF documents.
Lodge an appeal, make the most of all digital options
Once the documents have been selected, click on „Next“. A summary will then appear, along with the option to add a reason for the objection. You will find this in the hsp.community a template document in the „Property Tax“ group. We are also planning to include a selection of different justifications. This database is populated by Opti.Tax users. Anyone who would like to share the grounds for an appeal with the community can send them to support@hsp-software.de send. The content is then entered into the database – anonymised and presented in a neutral form, of course.
In addition, hsp is working on an extension to the wizard. This will use a questionnaire to gather information about the property. By analysing the answers, it will determine whether it is worth lodging an objection – and on what grounds. This extension is being developed in collaboration with a valuer specialising in property valuation. As soon as this programme feature becomes available, there will be a separate, detailed demonstration. Once the information for the objection is complete, it can be finalised and submitted.
Submitting corrections – using Opti.Tax Land Tax No problem
In addition to major objections, there is also the matter of corrections. After all, sometimes it is only individual details that need to be corrected. But how can corrections be made in Opti.Tax and submitted to the tax authorities? To demonstrate this, Paul opens a project. A property contains incorrect details. Paul duplicates this property, including the attachments. The property appears as a duplicate, marked with a „(2)“ after the property name. To highlight the duplicate more clearly, Paul recommends entering something like „Correction“ in the „Additional details“ field.
The status of the duplicate is automatically set to „In progress“. The property details are now opened. Paul then clicks on „Additional details regarding the valuation declaration“ under the „Declaration for the determination of the property tax value“ field (bottom left). A tick is placed to indicate that there are additions. This brings up a text box into which the corrections can be entered. As this is done in text form, a reason should also be provided here. The project is then validated and submitted.
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