French tax authorities discovered thousands of undeclared private swimming pools using AI software, resulting in bills totaling approximately €10 million for the owners.
The system, created by Google and Capgemini, can recognize pools in aerial images and cross-reference them with land registry databases. It began as an experiment in nine French departments a year ago and has uncovered 20,356 pools, stated the tax office on Monday, and will be expanded across the country.
Property modifications, such as the addition of swimming pools, must be reported to the tax office within 90 days of completion. Because property taxes are based on the rental value of the property, improvements result in a tax increase. A typical pool of 30 square meters would be taxed at an additional €200 per year.
The tax office, or le fisc, says it is now considering using the system to detect undeclared annexes, extensions, and verandas, as well as permanent pergolas.
We are specifically interested in house extensions such as verandas, but we must ensure that the software can detect buildings with a large footprint rather than the dog kennel or the children’s playhouse, Antoine Magnant, deputy director general of public finances, told the newspaper, Le Parisien.
However, according to the tax authorities technical team, they are unable to determine whether a rectangular shape on an aerial image is an extension or a tent, terrace, or even tarpaulin situated on the ground.
It was claimed in April that the Google-Capgemini software had a 30% margin of error. It was not only mistaking solar panels for swimming pools, but it was also missing taxable extensions hidden beneath trees or in the shadows of a property. The technology is being tested in order to perfect it.
This is the second stage of our investigation, and it will also allow us to determine whether a property is vacant and should no longer be taxed, Magnant added.
France is estimated to have approximately 3.2 million private swimming pools, with installations increasing even before the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 when more people worked from home.
The public finance authority, DGFiP, announced that the AI program would now be implemented nationwide, potentially resulting in €40 million in new taxes on private pools in 2023.
The crackdown comes as environmentalists in France have called for the prohibition of private pools after the summer heatwave caused drought and water restrictions.
According to Julien Bayou, national secretary of Europe-Ecology-the Greens (EELV), the French required a different relationship with water. He stated that with drinking water supplies under threat, it was reasonable to consider limiting recreational water use. The challenge is to ensure our vital water needs, not to ban swimming pools, he said.
EELV’s Mélanie Vogel maintained the party was not in favor of a pool ban, but added, Because of climate inaction, access to drinking water is threatened, and we must restrict its use.
