the new Gemapi tax inflates the property
A new local tax now appears on property tax notices for owners in the territory of Toulouse Métropole: the Gemapi tax (Management of aquatic environments and flood prevention). This must be used to finance the management of waterways and the prevention of floods.
Some must have been surprised. A new column has appeared on the property tax notices of Toulouse owners. It is the Gemapi taxacronym for Management of Aquatic Environments and Flood Prevention. Toulouse Métropole has decided to set it up on January 1, 2022.
The community had voted the amount of this local tax, also known as the “flood tax”, during a metropolitan council last March. Toulouse Métropole did not charge it until now. The Gemapi tax is effectively optional. Each intermunicipal authority thus decides whether or not to apply it. But more and more of them are doing it.
What is the purpose of the Gemapi tax activated by the Métropole?
In total, this new local tax is levied by more than 15,000 municipalities in France, ie almost half of them. The Gemapi tax is collected by the intermunicipal authorities to finance the management of waterways and the prevention of floods. The State has effectively attributed this competence to them since January 1, 2018.
The sums collected via this tax must be directed towards actions related to the development of watersheds, the maintenance and development of waterways, canals, lakes and bodies of water, but also flood and sea defenses and the protection and restoration of wetlands.
The Metropolis is pleased not to have increased overall taxation
At the same time, Toulouse Métropole is pleased not to have increased taxation. “Indeed, the existing tax rate is not increasing in the Toulouse metropolitan area, but, at the same time, you are creating new taxes to increase the tax burden on individuals. After that of the LGV, here is the Gemapi”, denounced Thomas Karmann of the group Métropole Écologiste, Solidaire et Citoyenne (Mesc), during the metropolitan council last March.
The amount of the Gemapi tax differs from one intermunicipal authority to another. It depends on the budget allocated to this skill. Corn this amount cannot exceed 40 euros per inhabitant. On the territory of Toulouse Métropole, it is less.
The amount of this tax for the inhabitants of Toulouse
“The amount of proceeds from the Gemapi tax is set at 5,890,000 euros. Based on 806,447 inhabitants, the product would correspond to approximately 7.30 euros per inhabitant. Half of this tax being based on professional taxpayers, the additional tax burden for households would be around 3.65 euros per inhabitant on average “, specified the Metropolis.
All taxpayers subject to payment of housing tax, property tax, but also the business property contribution (CFE) must now pay this tax. On the other hand, some escape it. French tax law indeed grants an exemption from the tax to HLM organizations, semi-public companies and their occupants.