Philippe Barthélémy, edited by Alexandre Dalifard
modified to
07:31, November 02, 2022
Since 2014, agglomerations under pressure of more than 50,000 inhabitants can increase the housing tax for second homes. A few days ago, a government amendment to the finance bill extended this possibility of a surcharge to stretched areas in smaller towns. This would concern 4,000 additional municipalities.
The number of municipalities potentially concerned will explode. With this amendment, the increased housing surcharge can be applied in approximately 4,000 additional municipalities. The cities concerned combine high real estate prices and a high rate of secondary residences. Unsurprisingly, most of these municipalities are located on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, as well as in Corsica and in the mountain ranges. In Haute-Savoie, Chamonix as well as Les Contamines Montjoie are, for example, concerned.
“This is a new attack on the owners”
Municipalities can increase the housing tax from 5 to 60%. A ceiling already applied in Paris, Marseille or Bordeaux. Christophe Demerson denounces a relentlessness. “It’s a new attack on homeowners. There are a lot of retirees who own a second home. They are going to have a property tax that has exploded for their main residence and this surcharge, plus the property tax for their second home. Some will be forced to part with their property,” he laments.
If you are the owner of a secondary residence, however, you have a chance of escaping the surcharge. This year, only 22% of municipalities that could apply it chose not to.