The system, developed by Google and Capgemini, can identify groups in aerial images and cross-reference them with cadastral databases. Started as an experiment a year ago in nine French departments, it has uncovered 20,356 swimming pools, the tax office announced on Monday, and will expand across the country. Property alterations, including the addition of swimming pools, must be reported to the IRS within 90 days of completion. As property taxes are based on the rental value of the property, improvements mean an increase in taxes. A typical 30 square meter pool would be taxed at around €200 extra per year. The tax office – or le fisc, as it is known – says it is now looking at using the system to identify undeclared annexes, extensions and terraces including permanent pergolas. “We are particularly targeting house extensions such as terraces, but we need to be sure that the software can find buildings with a large footprint and not the dog kennel or children’s home,” said Antoine Magnant, deputy general manager of public finance at Le. newspaper Parisien. However, the tax department’s technical team says it is still unable to determine whether a rectangular shape in an aerial photograph is an extension or a tent, terrace or even a tarpaulin placed on the ground. In April it was claimed that the Google-Capgemini software had a 30% margin of error. Not only did he misinterpret solar panels for swimming pools, but he failed to pick up taxable extensions hidden under trees or in the shade of a property. Tests are being done to perfect the technology. “This is the second stage of our investigation and will also allow us to verify if a property is vacant and should no longer be taxed,” Magnant added. France is believed to have around 3.2 million private pools and reported a boom even before the 2020 and 2021 Covid lockdowns, when there was an increase in installations as more people worked from home. Public finance authority DGFiP said the AI program will now be rolled out nationally, potentially leading to €40 million in new taxes on private pools in 2023. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The crackdown comes as French environmentalists have called for a ban on private swimming pools after a summer heatwave triggered drought and water restrictions. Julien Bayou, the national secretary of Europe-Ecology-the Greens (EELV), said the French needed “a different relationship with water”. He said that with drinking water supplies under threat, it made sense to consider restricting the use of water for recreational purposes. “The challenge is not to ban swimming pools, but to guarantee our vital water needs,” he said. Mélanie Vogel, of EELV, insisted the party was not in favor of a swimming pool ban, but added: “Because of climate inaction, access to drinking water is under threat and we need to limit its use.”
