Bad news for homeowners. According to Insee estimates, property tax is set to rise by at least 2.8% in 2022. This increase is mainly due to inflation, which affects both income and housing.
Property tax stable in most communities
Most local authorities, including Paris, Nice, Toulon and Le Havre, have kept their municipal rates unchanged for several years. However, some municipalities with populations of over 100,000 and their intercommunal bodies have decided to use the tax lever.
According to data compiled by the newspaper Les Echos, based on an examination of primitive budgets, budget orientation reports and deliberations on financial pacts, property tax increases are planned in 9 out of 42 territories. By way of comparison, in 2021, property tax rates on built-up or undeveloped properties had changed in only 4 territories, with an average increase of +0.3%, as shown by an annual study carried out by FSL.
Coping with rising levels of public services
Property tax increases will be significant in some cities. In Strasbourg, for example, the metropolitan share of the property tax is set to rise from 1.15% to 4.60%, to offset an increase in operating expenditure of 240 million euros over the term of office. This will represent an increase of 64 euros per year for households, 287 euros per year for commercial companies and 1,800 euros for industrial companies.
In the columns of Les Echos newspaper, Syamak Agha Babaei, vice-president in charge of budget and finance, explains that the property tax increase is intended to compensate for a substantial increase in the level of public services and the mobility offer, and more specifically, the recruitment of 300 people, the creation of new tramway and bus lines, and free public transport for young people under 18.
In Tours, the 4.5-point property tax increase is justified by the need to renovate public property that has fallen into " serious disrepair " after several years of " chronic under-investment ", reports Emmanuel Denis, the mayor of Tours.
So the return of inflation is not good news for the French. For its part, the government fears its adverse effects on the efforts made since the start of the Macron quinquennium to improve purchasing power. Indeed, the rise in inflation could lead to a further spike in the already very high property tax. Bercy anticipates a sharp increase in the cadastral rental values used to determine the amount of property tax, plus the rates set by elected representatives.
" The French can start saving because the bill is going to be painful," warns Christophe Demerson, president of the Union nationale de propriétaires.