“There will be no return to housing tax on main residences. » Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization, wants to put an end to the rumors in an interview with Parisianthis Saturday evening. The possibility of a return of this tax has been raised for some time, but the rumor ignited at the beginning of October, when Catherine Vautrin, on the sidelines of her hearing by the Local Finance Committee, estimated that in the long term, it would be necessary without doubt restore a local tax of this type.
No new tax, but a “participation”
What she hammers out in the columns of Parisian : “No, there will not be a new tax, but we must think about possible participation in living in the town or village. There is nothing free. (…) I am ready to resume work relating to taxation which had been started by elected officials from the CFL, the Local Finance Committee. We probably need to look at how we can enable communities to better control their resources. »
According to the observatory of the National Union of Real Estate Owners (Unpi), in mid-October, “the abolition of the housing tax on main residences” has, among other things, led municipalities to increase property tax rates and to “the multiplication of additional taxes”. Unpi proposes an abolition of the property tax, replaced by a “user tax”, which would be paid by all the inhabitants of a territory – tenants and owners alike.
A consultation with local elected officials in early 2025
The Association of Mayors of France (AMF), for its part, proposes creating a “citizen contribution to public service”. “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,” reacts Catherine Vautrin.
“I would like to open a consultation with local elected officials at the beginning of 2025,” continues Catherine Vautrin. “We have a nationwide reflection, which has not yet been decided. It is that of the link between the participation of our fellow citizens in the entire use of the city. »
As a reminder, the housing tax, paid by the occupant of a home, was gradually eliminated from 2018. It was initially collected by the municipalities. The property tax is paid only by the owners and calculated according to the rental value of the property to which a tax rate voted by local authorities applies. It is collected by the State, which pays it to the latter.
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