A new freeze of Angers tax rates is likely, but the economic conditions are not sunny

La réunion du conseil municipal peu de temps avant les élections était une opportunité pour Frédéric Béatse de rappeler sa fidélité à une ligne politique : celle de ne pas augmenter les taux des impôts locaux au cours des années à venir. Si l'annonce n'est pas sans avantage politique, elle n'est pas non plus sans lien avec la situation économique locale.

The opportunity is too important to be forgotten but is, neverthess, consistent with the low profile of the economic situation of Angers and Maine-et-Loire. The Angers mayor, Frédéric Béatse, should announce in the monthly meeting of the city council due to take place on January 29th that the rates of the Angers taxes should not be raised in 2014 and 2015, a policy that has been applied in Angers for nearly 30 years with only one exception, in 2011, because, in particular, of the costs of the first tramway line.

But the last economic datas are not favourable. The bad news announced by the president of the Angers
commercial court have, alas, been confirmed by recent figures. Regarding unemployment, the Maine-et-Loire rate increased by 0.6% in december. This is, after the Sarthe department, the worst of the Pays de la Loire region. In 2013, the number of joblesses has increased by 6.1% in Maine-et-Loire. About 37 000 persons were looking for a work. The level of the unemployment rate in Maine-et-Loire (10.6%) is beyond the national rate (10.5%) since June 2013.

In the construction industry, the volume of projects implemented has decreased in Maine-et-Loire what, in compensation, leads to lower prices. So the likely freeze of local tax rates is in line with the economic context. That one should also stabilise or even contract the resources of the city in the years to come. This would gave legitimacy to include in the public debate the finances of the city in the years to come.