Unlike some other places (the US?), in Austria property tax is a relatively minor part of cities's finances. It's also computed based not on "actual" property v

Unlike some other places (the US?), in Austria property tax is a relatively minor part of cities's finances. It's also computed based not on "actual" property values but on fictional values that haven't been adjusted since 1973 or so. For both of these reasons, the city doesn't stand to lose from sinking land prices (not that they are sinking). Also, I can't find the numbers right now, but a lot of land in Vienna is owned by the Catholic Church. Religious organizations are conveniently exempt from property tax. > Why wouldn’t urban land holders sue the city for damages? As far as I can tell, Austrian courts don't subscribe to a notion that investments in real estate should be guaranteed to be risk-free.