In German-speaking countries, Hauptwohnsitz ( en, Main domicile) denotes the primary place of residence. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the concept of Hauptwohnsitz has special legal ramifications, primarily involving

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

. In

the Hauptwohnsitzhelp.gv.at - ''Hauptwohnsitz''
(German language), accessed 10 August 2009 has an important meaning in the context of

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

adjustment between the

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and the local

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. On the basis of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

determined number of inhabitants with Hauptwohnsitz, the municipality receives its budget from the federal government. Hauptwohnsitze count themselves for a municipality in two regards: By the direct payment per head, and an increase in premiums after exceeding certain thresholds for the number of inhabitants. This leads to frequent censuses to match the budget of a municipality to its number of inhabitants. In fact, many municipalities are negatively affected by this system. The city of

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, Austria's second largest city, counts about 260,000 registered Hauptwohnsitze, however, almost 300,000 people do have their main residence there, as there are many students still having their Hauptwohnsitz registered in their hometowns. Since those are not taken into account concerning fiscal distribution, Graz faces serious economic problems. Currently there are campaigns trying to motivate students having their Hauptwohnsitz registered there. The Hauptwohnsitz in

is based on the main center of ones' interest (''Lebensmittelpunkt'').''Melderechtsrahmengesetz''
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314083513/http://bundesrecht.juris.de/mrrg/ , date=2011-03-14 (German language), § 12 (2) The Hauptwohnsitz is also the place in which one exercises the right to

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

, and where the municipal administration issues a citizen's ID card and

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

. The income tax revenue is split between the federal government, the

Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

government and the municipality where the respective taxpayer has their ''Hauptwohnsitz''. Apart from the ''Hauptwohnsitz'' a person can establish multiple secondary places of residence (''Nebenwohnsitze'', sg. ''Nebenwohnsitz'') where they are also registered as residents but do not have a right to vote. A number of German municipalities impose a secondary-residence tax (''Zweitwohnungssteuer'') on persons having such a secondary residence, the rationale for that being that they have to provide services to these persons but do not share in their income tax.

References

Law of Germany Real property law

See also

References