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Why? Taxes is what sends children to school, pays for hospitals and funds the infrastructure everyone uses. People love to hear about AI breakthroughs that coul

by pyrale 3y ago

Why? Taxes is what sends children to school, pays for hospitals and funds the infrastructure everyone uses. People love to hear about AI breakthroughs that could transform education or health, why should they not be happy about this? I have many doubts about the actual technical solution, but I wouldn't discard the work because it's for taxation purpose.

im3w1l 3y ago
The power balance between state and individual is quite delicate and everything that changes it makes people uneasy. Most people want a situation where law and order is more or less upheld, but the state is otherwise unable to precisely know or control how people live.
- hkt 3y ago
  Enforcing property taxes is hardly a substantial change to that balance though, realistically.
darkr 3y ago
From my understanding they paid CapGemini €24M for this project in order to net €10M in taxes.
- TMWNN 3y ago
  Most of that will be fixed costs. It won't cost nearly so much the next time.
  - Traubenfuchs 3y ago
    ...when will the next 20.000 swimming pools be done?
    - _Microft 3y ago
      Another commenter pointed out that having a pool influences the property value and thereby tax, so they should be able to collect the tax yearly, not just once.
- cinntaile 3y ago
  That's 10M extra per year. You pay property taxes each year.
  - ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
    If it's anything like the big consulting firms' rip-offs in the USA, it might well be every year. Look at the disgraceful fleecing of our national parks by Booz Allen: https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-park-fees-booz-allen-68d4d6d8 https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-park-fees-booz-allen-6...
- pyrale 3y ago
  The $10m comes from about 10% of France's territory that was used as an experiment.
  - prepend 3y ago
    So it will likely need $300M in fees to CapGemini to expand to the other 90%. And the model will need to be rebuilt in 2 years.
  - arp242 3y ago
    The article says "The public finance authority DGFiP said the AI programme would now be rolled out nationwide, potentially leading to €40m in new taxes on private pools in 2023". So total revenue is not that significantly higher than €10m.
cm2187 3y ago
Taxes are pissed away in France in gigantic useless bureaucracies, useless projects and vote-buying redistribution, to the point that core state functions (police/justice, army, education or healthcare system) are paradoxically starved of funds and dysfunctional. Sadly the only way to curb this spending incontinence seems to starve the state of revenues.
- rahen 3y ago
  Why "sadly"? Starving it also gives it less power, and more power and freedom to the individuals. This is even truer in France.
  - skinnymuch 3y ago
    The state only has as much power as it can wield and as what the people will take. Individuality the way you’re implying does not exist in societies where not even food, shelter, and basic dignity is guaranteed and provided to all.
- hkt 3y ago
  > Sadly the only way to curb this spending incontinence seems to starve the state of revenues. Or reform the broken democracy at the crux of it all.
  - skinnymuch 3y ago
    When has reforming worked? No less with democracies (which are all broken anyway)
    - hkt 3y ago
      Some countries manage. Finland and Switzerland are personal favourite examples of successful reform. There are others, too. Plus it is impolite to call for a revolution, even if we're talking about France
- ElFitz 3y ago

by pyrale 3y ago

im3w1l 3y ago

The power balance between state and individual is quite delicate and everything that changes it makes people uneasy. Most people want a situation where law and order is more or less upheld, but the state is otherwise unable to precisely know or control how people live.

hkt 3y ago
Enforcing property taxes is hardly a substantial change to that balance though, realistically.

darkr 3y ago

From my understanding they paid CapGemini €24M for this project in order to net €10M in taxes.

TMWNN 3y ago
Most of that will be fixed costs. It won't cost nearly so much the next time.
- Traubenfuchs 3y ago
  ...when will the next 20.000 swimming pools be done?
  - _Microft 3y ago
    Another commenter pointed out that having a pool influences the property value and thereby tax, so they should be able to collect the tax yearly, not just once.
cinntaile 3y ago
That's 10M extra per year. You pay property taxes each year.
- ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
  If it's anything like the big consulting firms' rip-offs in the USA, it might well be every year. Look at the disgraceful fleecing of our national parks by Booz Allen: https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-park-fees-booz-allen-68d4d6d8 https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-park-fees-booz-allen-6...
pyrale 3y ago
The $10m comes from about 10% of France's territory that was used as an experiment.
- prepend 3y ago
  So it will likely need $300M in fees to CapGemini to expand to the other 90%. And the model will need to be rebuilt in 2 years.
- arp242 3y ago
  The article says "The public finance authority DGFiP said the AI programme would now be rolled out nationwide, potentially leading to €40m in new taxes on private pools in 2023". So total revenue is not that significantly higher than €10m.

cm2187 3y ago

Taxes are pissed away in France in gigantic useless bureaucracies, useless projects and vote-buying redistribution, to the point that core state functions (police/justice, army, education or healthcare system) are paradoxically starved of funds and dysfunctional. Sadly the only way to curb this spending incontinence seems to starve the state of revenues.

rahen 3y ago
Why "sadly"? Starving it also gives it less power, and more power and freedom to the individuals. This is even truer in France.
- skinnymuch 3y ago
  The state only has as much power as it can wield and as what the people will take. Individuality the way you’re implying does not exist in societies where not even food, shelter, and basic dignity is guaranteed and provided to all.
hkt 3y ago
> Sadly the only way to curb this spending incontinence seems to starve the state of revenues. Or reform the broken democracy at the crux of it all.
- skinnymuch 3y ago
  When has reforming worked? No less with democracies (which are all broken anyway)
  - hkt 3y ago
    Some countries manage. Finland and Switzerland are personal favourite examples of successful reform. There are others, too. Plus it is impolite to call for a revolution, even if we're talking about France
ElFitz 3y ago