Tax audit raises questions about district heating expansion in Anklam!

Tax audit raises questions about district heating expansion in Anklam!

In Anklam, tempers are currently boiling over municipal heat planning and the financial situation of the Anklam real estate and housing industry (GWA). The tax issues that have recently emerged are causing discussions within the city council and the GWA. The main reason for the complex situation is the GWA's failure to request the city for 600,000 euros for the expansion of the district heating network in the middle field, which should have been made in 2021.

The tax office now viewed this failure as a hidden distribution of profits. This led to an additional tax payment of around 95,000 euros in 2025, which GWA has already paid. The city is now obliged to reimburse this amount as an extraordinary expense. Behind the scenes, the situation is anything but clear; The GWA supervisory board has called a special meeting to discuss further action. Chairman of the Supervisory Board Martin Luft would also like to obtain comprehensive information before making any predictions.

Financial bottlenecks and future prospects

A look at the figures also reveals that GWA only reported a retained profit of 58,000 euros in the 2021 annual financial statements and that there was no profit distribution to the city that exceeded the usual limit of three percent of the share capital. A report from 2024 also notes that there were bottlenecks in GWA's liquid assets in previous years, which brings with it a risk of insolvency. In order to remain able to act, the GWA had to use a credit line of up to 500,000 euros from July 2021 to June 2022. Fortunately, the company's figures stabilized in the following years.

Urban heat planning could certainly influence the situation. Anklam has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040, for which a concept was developed by a Rostock engineering office. This concept was presented to city representatives for approval in June 2025. But the resolution did not find the necessary majority and was returned to the administration because they wanted to wait for new developments at the federal level. Mayor Galander, who is committed to rapid implementation, expresses concern that the GWA could lose funding when expanding the district heating network without planning security. He sees Anklam as having an advantage because the heat planning has already been largely completed.

Political tensions and outlook

The political debate over heat planning will continue to escalate. While city officials recently rejected an objection from Mayor Galander, he plans to reintroduce the concept at the next meeting. The last vote on the concept narrowly failed with ten votes for and ten against - a clear indication of the divided opinion within the city council.

Ultimately, it comes down to the legal reviews, which should be completed by the next city council meeting in January 2026. The district's legal supervision authority has already signaled public interest in the issue. Given this situation, it will be interesting to see how the plans in Anklam will develop and what financial and political changes the coming months could bring.