Property owners in France are seeing their administrative horizon darken with the update of the property declaration. While this approach, which became mandatory in 2023, had already caused confusion, an amendment has just been voted on, which promises to make the procedure even more complex. This news takes on increased importance as hundreds of thousands of households have recently faced administrative errors, with their confidence in the system shaken. Thus, this new requirement calls more on the management of personal information and administrative simplification in the tax field.
A cumbersome declaration process for owners
Since the introduction of property declaration in 2023, owners in France are required to provide detailed information about their properties, following an increase in property tax. “Owners, whether individuals or companies, must now indicate the title under which they occupy their premises, and if not, the identity of the occupants as well as the periods of occupation,” we can say. read on the official tax website. This measure aims to identify second homes more precisely to better apply the housing tax. The declaration, to be renewed each year, is accompanied by a fine of 150 euros in the event of non-compliance with the deadline of 1er July.
Faced with this new obligation, administrative complexity has only increased, to the point of causing a series of notable incidents in its first year of implementation. In 2023, around 600,000 taxpayers received a housing tax notice in error, as a result of poor management of the system. This massive error has exposed flaws in the procedure, causing frustration and concern among many owners, who are already reluctant to share additional information.
An amendment to strengthen data collection, but accentuate the challenges
A new amendment passed on November 7 increases the administrative burden on owners. According to this text, declarants will now have to indicate additional information such as the precise start and end dates of occupation of each property, the identity of the manager and even the reason for any vacation periods. These new requirements, intended to “improve the accuracy and efficiency of the process”, risk increasing complexity for owners, many of whom already report difficulties meeting the requirements of the first version.
Reactions to this development are mixed. On the one hand, the administration hopes that these measures will make it possible to reduce the errors which marked the first campaigns, and to optimize the identification of the goods concerned. And on the other, voices are being raised to denounce a disproportionate administrative burden, likely to cause new errors and intensify distrust in the system. While the initial errors have not yet been fully rectified, this development in asset declaration raises concerns about its practicality and its impact on the privacy of taxpayers.
If this complexity of the declaration of real estate is intended to strengthen administrative efficiency, it could in reality prove counterproductive. The government will likely face increasing pressure to simplify this process or make adjustments, particularly if errors increase. In the future, the challenge lies in the administration's ability to balance its information needs with respect for taxpayers' rights, otherwise citizens' distrust of tax and administrative reforms will grow.
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