The tax authorities on the trail of 80,000 to 100,000 undeclared swimming pools in France

2023-04-20 11:33:40

By Emma Confrere

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This year, the tax authorities intend to work twice as hard to pin down undeclared swimming pools, in particular thanks to aerial photos.

Beware of those who have not declared their swimming pool… The tax authorities intend to identify between 80,000 and 100,000 this year. The amount of this tax adjustment would thus amount tofrom 40 to 50 million euros in 2023“, four times more than last year, indicates to West France Jérôme Fournel, Director General of Public Finances. By 2022, around 20,000 swimming pools had been unearthed, representing 10 million euros in additional property tax revenue.

For the French who will be pinned, the tax will be affected for the current year. With a swimming pool, the property tax increases byaround 200 euros per year on average“, emphasizes Jérôme Fournel. They will also be subject to a recall over the previous three years”depending on the date of construction of the swimming pool or the date of acquisition of the property».

Read alsoDrought: are private swimming pools threatened?

Artificial intelligence to spot swimming pools

If some intend to keep their swimming pool secret, it will be difficult to escape the tax authorities because the administration directly uses aerial photos from the National Geographic Institute. An artificial intelligence then compares these maps to the cadastre to identify unlisted swimming pools. Last year, this system was tested in nine departments, including Morbihan, Vendée, and Maine-et-Loire. In all, 94% of the owners contacted had then acknowledged having a taxable swimming pool. “This year, all the departments are concerned“Warns Jérôme Fournel. If the project costs 24 million euros to the State, it would be “already profitable“, according to the tax authorities.

However, the conditions for building a swimming pool are clear: if the pool is between 10 and 100 m²it is necessary to carry out aprior declaration of works at the town hall» and beyond 100 m², you have to apply for a building permit. It is then sufficient to declare the construction to the tax authorities via the “manage my properties” in his “particular spaceon the tax website.

For now, only swimming pools will be pinned this year. Other constructions, such as house extensions, will soon be subject to a tax audit. Artificial intelligence will therefore continue to train “in order to obtain an optimal detection rate“, emphasizes Jérôme Fournel.