Taxation: towards a return of housing tax in France?

Housing tax 2, the return? Will this tax be reintroduced in France, but in another form, another name? The question concerns in particular cross-border workers and Swiss residents in France.

As a reminder, the housing tax was phased out between 2018 and 2023. From now on, taxpayers are no longer liable for this tax for their main residence. Only those with a second home still have to pay it.

This decision is that of the President of the Republic. Emmanuel Macron considers this tax unfair. But it was very useful to local authorities for their finances. In 2017, for its last full year, it brought in 22.3 billion euros, of which 15.2 billion returned to the municipalities. The State has undertaken to compensate for the shortfall to the nearest euro.

Perilous financial situation

Today, France is in a perilous financial situation. The State wants to reduce the public deficit to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 (which will nevertheless still remain below the maximum 3% provided for by European rules), against 6.1% in 2024.

For this, the government of Savoyard Michel Barnier must find 60 billion euros in savings (a colossal sum) for next year’s budget. He announced to public authorities that they were going to have to tighten their belts, as part of their “participation in the budgetary recovery effort”. The head of government indicated that he intends to reduce the resources that the State allocates to them by an amount of 5 billion euros. For theAssociation of French mayors and intercommunity presidents (AMF)the figure is rather 6.5 billion euros.

Disgruntled local elected officials

The effort is such that it angers dissatisfied local elected officials. In this context, several of them are calling for the restoration of the housing tax.

Right, Jean-François Copé, the Les Républicains (LR) mayor of Meauximagines a tax which would “cancel the existence of the property tax and the old housing tax”, and which “would concern everyone except the most modest”.

In the same spirit, on the left, David Guiraud, deputy La France insoumise (LFI)tabled in the National Assembly (parliament) an amendment requesting the reestablishment of the housing tax on main residences for the 20% of the richest households.

“There is nothing free”

Ideas that the government rejects. In a recent interview given to “Parisien”the Minister of Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization, Catherine Vautrinassures that “there will be no return to housing tax” for main residences.

However, the manager believes that “we need to think about possible participation in living in the city or village. There’s nothing free.” “Without recreating a form of housing tax, making everyone responsible for the importance of the cost seems to me to correspond to a requirement that we cannot do without,” she believes. And to judge “not ridiculous” the title “citizen contribution to public service”, proposed by the AMF. To be continued…

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Fabrice Breithaupt is a journalist and editorial secretary. He deals with Franco-Swiss cross-border issues, but also real estate, employment and training. He has been a PR journalist since 1995 (radio, then written press).More info

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