It is a text which brought together more than usual. In a context of acute housing crisis, a transpartisan bill which plans to significantly toughen the taxation of furnished tourist accommodation such as Airbnb was adopted, Monday, January 29, in the National Assembly, by a large majority, 100 votes against 25.
These seasonal rentals, in full expansion – France recorded 800,000 in 2021, compared to 300,000 in 2016 – are in fact accused by local elected officials and the associative world of contributing to the surge in real estate prices and of siphoning off the traditional rental stock.
At the end of the examination of the text at first reading, the deputy La France insoumise (LFI) of Haute-Garonne François Piquemal even wanted to thank the rapporteurs, his colleagues Annaïg Le Meur (Renaissance, Finistère) and Inaki Echaniz ( Socialist Party, Pyrénées-Atlantiques), “which is quite rare”underlined the latter.
If all the left-wing deputies, independents from Libertés, independents, overseas and territories (LIOT), and most of those from the majority voted for, almost all of the deputies from Les Républicains and the Rassemblement national voted against, invoking in particular the defense of “small landlord landlords”.
The flagship measure of this bill aimed at “remedy rental market imbalances in tight areas”, consists of aligning the taxation of short and long-term rentals, by setting the same tax reduction rate of 30%. This is a huge blow to the so-called Airbnb tax niche, which today allows renters of classified tourist accommodation to benefit from a flat-rate reduction of 71% on the rents received, and 50% for classic furnished accommodation, compared to only 30% for long-term “bare” rentals. Benefits that encourage owners “to put the property on short-term rental”, deplore the rapporteurs of the text. B&Bs, rural lodges and ski resorts, however, will be able to retain their 71% reduction.
New regulatory tools at the hands of mayors
This reorganization of the tax on furnished accommodation was achieved through a tough struggle, with the presidential camp having long been opposed to a rebalancing. He could also change his mind, while the conclusions of a parliamentary mission responsible for measuring the impact of this tax reform on the state budget are expected within two months. The president (Renaissance, Eure-et-Loir) of the economic affairs committee of the National Assembly, Guillaume Kasbarian, thus called for the measure to be voted on, even if it meant refining it in the parliamentary shuttle.
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