The experiment in tax tracking on the web by Bercy will be able to continue, thanks to the finance bill for 2024.
The Ministry of Finance has been present on the web since 2021 to collect data, with the idea of revealing a certain number of frauds. An initiative which seems to be starting to bear fruit, given that Bercy wishes to continue scanning the internet to identify new fraudsters. What he will be able to do, Parliament having just approved the extension of this system for the years to come.
The experiment extended over two years
The finance bill for 2024 was definitively adopted on Tuesday, December 21. Among the provisions adopted, we can find a two-year extension of the right of the Ministry of Finance to collect data from companies on the web.
Since 2021, the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) has been able to record a large number of announcements on platforms such as Leboncoin, or short-term accommodation rental services such as Airbnb. In total, 17 major collections have been carried out over the past two years, with searches focused on housing rental or car sales.
The personal and business information of sellers is thus listed, to identify possible anomalies, which would then give rise to an investigation.
The administration will be able to create accounts on social networks
For the moment, if Bercy has observed large sections of the commercial Internet, the results are far from impressive. Unlike the detection of undeclared swimming pools by AI, which had brought in some 50 million euros for the year 2023 alone, this intrusion by Bercy into the digital space does not currently represent interesting financial gains.
At 1er July 2023, out of more than a million announcements screened, 160 files caught the eye of the ministry, leading to the opening of 17 tax audits. Barely 10% of them (two inspections) have since been closed, with 68,000 euros raised.
However, the Ministry of Finance believes in the future of this way of doing things. Because beyond maintaining the system, it also obtained an increase in the control perimeter. While previously, it was legally impossible for Bercy to create an account on social networks like Facebook, the new Finance law now gives it this right, in order to control individuals (in particular on the reality of their residence tax in France). Will it be effective?
Source : The world
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