My bill just arrived - with a 30% increase on last year.
I remember many years ago trying to find out exactly how the base on which the payment is calculated , is arrived at. I also remember at the time being "fobbed off" with "oh it is too complicated to explain". (this is the same answer I got from the RSI when I asked them to show me how much pension I will get! - but that's another story);
Anyway, I want to know exactly how they have calculated my tax fonciers.
Not to be totally outsiders, we have joined a couple of committees and take part in most things except quines (I loathe bingo so profoundly that I simply will not go). That was not to gain favours but to get to know people in the commune, we living on a distant edge from the village itself as well. However, the payola is that if we want something now, a nice chat with the maire (he is actually a nice man anyway) or one of the deputies and we will have a little visit, sit over a coffee and know what we want will be done. Our TF is actually a little down this year irrespective of work we are doing and the volume of both the house and our land (we are buying a small adjoining lot at present - mainly for practical reasons to do with maintenance) so will be interested to see whether it goes up next year or not...
I accept that I may have to pay even more if I have my house reassessed so do not want to go down that path however I do like transparency so would like to know exactly what parameters they use for their calculations. Perhaps there are clues on the H1 form.
I have made many significan changes to my property but never got round to submitting the H1 forms so because of this lack of transparency I don't know whether these changes have been taken into account or not. I suspect not - so wonder if one day I may be in for a very big shock. Perhaps if I can get some written statement from them to confirm that they are not able or willing to tell me how the figure is calculated then I can say that because of the rise in my payment, I naturally thought that my home improvements were taken into account ;)
Would endorse that completely. We have no street lights, pay for rubbish collection and have unsuccessfully being trying to get the Mairie to do something about a terrible track of chemin that leads to our place but is owned by the Commune. And yes, the Mairie and his minions have beautiful offices also!! However, to balance that in most other matters we find the French way of life far outranks the British - to mention just a few - healthcare, lack of traffic, weather, food and eating out and generally (not always) able to find good honest artisans. So it is a case of win some, lose some!
Makes no sense to me but I cannot complain. Damned if I know what I get for the money as we live in an isolated farmhouse, no street lights, rubbish collection we pay for, we have a road, well track really, but I am sure it is all worthwhile and then the Mairie has a very nice office!
Geoff, I have wondered the same thing for years and have not been able to find out more than you.
I was told a couple of yesrs ago that we (the payers) are entitled to see "le fiche d'evaluation" which as I understood back then was the calculation used to come up with the figures. Having asked to see mine on more than one occasion, I have come up blank. No explanation was forthcoming and they "appeared" not to know what I was talking about?? As I wasn't a hundred percent sure myself I didn't make a fuss. My language skills are limited to say the least. According to my french neighbours, we are not entitled to see said document. I kind of gave up trying but now doubt will wish I had bothered when the tax fonciere is due, sometime soon of course.
Good luck with your quest and I'll keep an eye on this discussion...
I have to admit Geoff in a land where they know how to make protests (the French that is!) I have never got to the bottom of why nothing ever changes. The lethargic, ' well, thats just the way it is ' attitude is beyond me. Although, I think though, that the fictional rent values they base these on are so old that if challenged everyone would have a nasty shock as I am sure that these would go up significantly. Perhaps it is just a case of better the devil you know, than the devil you don't'?
Thanks for these inputs. I don't want to be a "whinging Pom" and I usually adopt the philosophy that I am a visitor in this country, so just take whatever comes - but I am beginning to dislike the acceptance I see around me - by French people especially - of the "authority" and lack of transparency of french beaurocracy.
People have said that the reason french toilets do not have a wash handbasin is because of the increase this would cause on the Tax Foncieres. This may be true - but I want to know.
Although the actual tax figure paid may be a bit confusing, I feel sure that the base figure on which that rate is applied, must be a simple spreadsheet counting such things as floor area, number of rooms - oh yes and number of washandbasins etc. so I don't know why we cannot get a copy of this.
We were told ours would increase because of x, y and z but it has in fact decreased by a tiny amount. Whilst at the mairie we ask the maire who could not explain, he is an intelligent and helpful man but actually a farmer rather than an accountant. so followed his advice to ask the secretary. She smiled, told us that people ask this year in, year out. Somebody at the public finance office works out the bills, they simply send them out. She could not give examples because of confidentiality but said that two households that are almost 100% comparable to the last detail often have incomparable bills which in the case of friends or relatives brings them rushing in to find out why. The phone call she has done umpteen times has never given her a coherent or consistent response to pass on to them. In short, it looks more like a lottery than something systematic. Like many other people, I wish I could answer...
I am not 100% sure how it is calculated but perhaps this may help. http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/finance-taxation/taxation/local-property-taxes/fonciere/ I have read several articles about the increases this year and the local goverments were given control of these tax hikes. There are a lot of local governments who have had their allowances cut very significantly and it has been suggested that that may be the reason for the significant increases. It appears that some of the most affected are those who live in Paris, the Languedoc & the Var. Also there was talk of increasing these taxes for maison secondaires, so people should check that the impot don't have them down as a maison secondaire if it is their main residence.