Now that the reform of business tax is completed, the government will tackle, in January, a new project: the revision of rental values. These rental values are "administered" price of a home or business premises, prices of base used to calculate local taxes. Since they have not been revised since 1970, today they are disconnected from reality. Result: an inhabitant of a building of faded 1960s pay for the same area, more housing tax or property tax that a household living in an old building, dilapidated forty years ago but now renovated. An updating of rental values would end these inequities. But the losers – typically, the people of downtown – could see their local taxes rise by 50%!
Companies are not immune to these distortions."In our barometer for the property tax offices in Boulogne-Billancourt is a city that offers the tax rate the lowest among major cities (except Paris). But it appears 35th on the total cost of fees per square meter, due to higher rental values, "explains Pascal Martinet, director of tax audits of Alma Consulting Group, a consulting firm.
Revision of rental values, however, looks less sensitive to process for companies, because these do not vote. Precisely, the Budget Ministry, Eric Woerth, in charge of this matter, decided to tackle the reform starting with the company. "The dated nature of the bases is more strongly for local business," says his entourage.But the idea is mainly to see what happens revision bases for some 4 million of commercial premises, before launching a big bang about 32 million homes inhabited by the French.
Involve local and parliamentary
Gilles Carrez, the UMP rapporteur of the Committee on Finance of the Assembly, calls for a long time for this method in two stages. In contrast, Jean Arthuis, the centrist chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, was opposed: "If the rental values no longer follow the same rules must be applied to property tax rates for different individuals and companies." At Bercy, we judge that this is not a problem.
Specifically, the Budget Ministry has put in place by January of working groups composed of members of associations of local elected officials, parliamentarians and government officials. "We did not set deadlines for completion.Everything depends on the speed of the consultation. We have no preconceived ideas on how to use ", said the entourage of Eric Woerth. In fact, the options are many. The leasehold basis can be stowed on the market value or remain an administrative prices set by the Treasury. The revision of bases may occur at the same date for all buildings in France or locally, by local, when a sale. Another option: the mayors may have liberty to set the timing of revision.
Finally, the impact of revisions will probably be spread over time to smooth the impact to taxpayers.
"Taxes geometry varies
"Rents: new coverage for owners