Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Did you all also receive a letter to participate in the census, after some googling it seems that every property owner is supposedly contacted … why do they want to know how I heat and how many people live with me, they already have my registration data and the building permit

I didn’t receive a letter, but it might still come.
The idea of the census is not to use non-existent data, but to query the actual conditions at the source.

It also says something about net cold rent. Should dig out the documents tonight?

Even in the current tax world, property values are determined. There are different methods (including income approach or similar), but all of them were opaque and then involved this absurd backward calculation from some year to form the comparable (but unverifiable) standard value.

The funny thing is: If you register a business, data is gladly shared with everyone who wants money somehow (IHK, tax office, etc.). But when it comes to simplifying things for the citizen, someone always comes up with "data protection."

That's the point. With the argument "But data protection!!111!!" nearly every progressive approach to problems can be nipped in the bud ;-) For me, it always feels like the progress deniers who bring up the topic of data protection. Usually, they themselves have channels everywhere on social media and 5 Payback cards from Netto and Penny.

No census mail here yet (but also no property owner).

Regarding personal authority data... there are already efforts (keyword "Registermodernisierungsgesetz") to simplify this, and the classic example they mention that they want to fix is "having to apply for birth certificates yourself and take them to other authorities," meaning that you just have to consent, and then they are allowed to send it over or something... preferably purely electronically. The law is from early 2021, but as is well known, the wheels turn slowly...

That's the point. With the argument "But data protection!!111!!" you can almost nip any progressive approach to problems in the bud ;-) For me, it always feels like it’s the progress refusers who come up with the data protection issue. Usually, however, they themselves have channels everywhere on social media and 5 Payback cards from Netto and Penny.

But then you lump everything together. Anyone who posts images of themselves on FaceBook has consented to the use and does it voluntarily for themselves. If a building authority receives personal data, the building authority may only use it for the intended purpose, provided the affected persons have not consented to another use or it is not authorized by law.

In this respect, "data protection" is indeed a well-known trump card, but on the other hand, it is a real existing hurdle that one (especially as a citizen) can be quite glad about. I think it’s good that the registration office, for example, may not enter my data in address directories without consent. My medical records are also none of my bank’s business, although some would surely like to link that.

The problem is not just data protection. We have various authorities as customers and the processes are simply incredibly loooooong and complicated. It starts with the fact that the bidding phase feels like it takes 5 years and ends with a simple patch level taking a month to install. If it is even installed at all, the naysayers would prefer not to change anything on the system. Some urgent bug fixes were still not installed after months...

Fax machines are available at the offices, right? :D (although no one really uses them anymore... but whatever)

Yep... and they are actually still used occasionally ;-) Sometimes emails are even printed out to be scanned again elsewhere in the same building... or to rot away in a folder there, while the digital original never makes it into the digital file.