With artificial intelligence, the tax authorities track down undeclared garden sheds

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full. For years, the tax authorities have been tracking undeclared constructions such as garden sheds from the sky.

But with artificial intelligence, fraud is almost mission impossible. In front of a DIY store, a customer regularized her situation for her children. “I declared my garden shed, my terrace, and I paid the taxes that go with it, obviously,” she explains.

This represents between 200 and 1,000 euros to pay once for the development tax depending on the municipality, as well as an increase in the property tax. “They still want to recover money from the poor people who just put together a little garden shed, a little veranda,” criticizes one man. The AI ​​compares the plots to what was declared. The tax is due under three conditions: if the shelter is closed, it is more than five square meters and the height is at least 1.80 m.

To identify them, the tax authorities cross-reference data between aerial photographs and land registers. “The artificial intelligence will carry out research into the different buildings, the different elements of the plots and compare them with what has been declared, what is supposed to be on the plot. From there, if there is an anomaly, it will be directed to a human being who will verify the veracity of the research,” explains Benoit Grünenwald, ESET digital and cybersecurity expert.

In the event of undeclared construction, you are exposed to a tax adjustment. “We risk penalties, a fine, we probably risk 10% of penalties which are not colossal. This is also perhaps why taxpayers were trying,” estimates Frédéric Naïm, tax lawyer.

Controls, particularly on undeclared swimming pools, have made it possible to recover 40 million euros over the last five years for local authorities.

Machine-translated from French