The tax authorities have a new target which concerns thousands of property owners.
Fraudging the tax administration is increasingly complex, beyond the criminal and financial risk involved. Even more so when the omission of a declaration – voluntary or not – concerns an element that is easily visible to the eye. If the tax authorities obviously do not have enough agents to come and check every home in the country, the progress made thanks to artificial intelligence is proving to be a valuable support in tracking down those who do not disclose everything up front. State.
Thanks to new digital technologies, the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) has developed a kind of robot which analyzes satellite views of the country and automatically detects numerous elements. If, recently, its use made it possible to uncover 140,000 undeclared swimming pools, other household equipment will now also be detected, warned the tax department. Be careful to comply, under penalty of a fine.
In the tax sights now, two parts of the house which, until then, could escape control: verandas and garden sheds. These extensions to the home must be declared to the administration, but many owners ignored it (and still ignore it). “Between 1 and 10%”, according to an estimate provided by the DGFiP to Le Figaro, while France has nearly 30 million owners. Up to 3 million people would therefore be affected.
Using aerial views taken by the National Institute of Geographic and Forestry Information, artificial intelligence developed by Google and Capgemini will therefore attempt to list those which are unknown to the tax authorities. But not all.
If taxes have not entered into the details of the tracking, only undeclared constructions of at least 10/15m² are likely to be subject to a fine, i.e. “those which could be used as an additional bedroom “, specifies the DGFiP. But what will be the amount of the fine when an audit proves successful for the tax authorities? A fixed fine of 150 euros then, in addition, a possible penalty of 1200 to 6000 euros per undeclared square meter, provides for the law.
What about property taxes? The surface area of ??the home will therefore be increased, as will its rental value (because these amenities are now taken into account): your property tax will therefore mechanically increase even more than with the usual increase. Small “gift” from the tax authorities, however: no retroactivity will be applied.
For the moment, artificial intelligence is not completely operational since the error rate in detections is, at this stage, greater than 50%. Furthermore, the tax authorities have announced that they will fully embark on this hunt at the beginning of 2025.
