French Tax Collectors Use A.I. to Spot Thousands of Undeclared Pools (Published 2022) (2024)

PARIS — For those trying to offset France’s increasingly sweltering summers by building swimming pools, the tax authorities have a message: If you’re thinking of saving money by keeping your pool hidden from property tax collectors, we’re watching — from above.

Over 20,000 unreported swimming pools have been detected since last October in a handful of French regions by an artificial intelligence tool that scans satellite images of houses and backyards, the authorities announced this week.

The discoveries will enable the French tax agency to collect nearly 10 million euros, or about $10 million, in property taxes, the authorities said. The tool will be deployed nationwide in the coming months after being tested over the past year in nine administrative departments, like the Var region on the Mediterranean coast and the Morbihan area of Brittany.

France’s General Directorate of Public Finances said in a statement that “by optimizing the process of detecting undeclared constructions or developments,” the project aims to “fight more effectively against anomalies” and respond to demands for “fairness and fiscal justice.”

In France, permanently constructed pools increase property taxes because they boost a property’s value. Pools are taxed by size and according to local tax rates; the average 30-square-meter pool, or roughly 323 square feet, costs the owner about 200 euros in taxes per year. Property taxes are paid to local municipalities.

A small minority of France’s 67 million citizens own swimming pools, but they have become increasingly popular in recent years. There are over 3 million private swimming pools in France, and over 240,000 were built in 2021 alone, according to France’s Federation of Pool and Spa Professionals, an industry lobbying group.