Local taxes: these municipalities that play the transparency card
Faced with tax discontent, some municipalities have reacted. They are posting posters on their city walls to show residents precisely how their money is being spent.
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What are our taxes used for? In the Aisne region, the Château-Thierry metropolitan area has decided to be transparent and is displaying the prices of its public services in large letters. For a bus ticket, for example, if the user pays 1.50 euros for an hour of travel, the local authority pays 11.79 euros. This is a wake-up call for some passengers. "I didn't know it was so expensive. I think 1.50 euros for a ticket is okay. I didn't know the real price. It's expensive compared to what we pay," they comment. Behind the 11.79 euros are costs related to transport, driver salaries, equipment maintenance, and even diesel.
And the message seems to be paying off. "At the beginning of the year, we were at an 8.5% fraud rate across the entire network. And since the campaign was launched, we're now at around 7%. I think that's contributing to that, in addition to the checks we carry out daily," shares Romain Lautier, Keolis director in Château-Thierry.
And does a father know the cost of an hour of daycare? He pays 1.50 euros compared to 13.53 euros paid by the community. "Thanks to the public service, then. Honestly, we see the real cost, it reassures us, let's say, on part of our taxes," he confides.
Awareness that comes through education, especially when the prices of public services rise. "When it's the public service that increases its rates, especially to keep up with inflation, there's often a big outcry, which is quite unfair because we also provide services. The desire is obviously to explain why there are sometimes rate increases, why taxes are useful," explains Sébastien Eugène, mayor (SE) and president of the Château-Thierry urban community.
Taxes also fund activities like the music school. At the real cost, a retiree wouldn't be able to take her class. "We're not small retirees, but it ends up being difficult to manage everything at the same time," she says. Other towns like Cholet (Maine-et-Loire) and Saint-Quentin (Aisne) are also considering drawing inspiration from this communication campaign.
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