Behind the fences, we see a building surrounded by a large park and several buildings.
Along the 28,000 square meter site, the signs “Military terrain, do not enter” are still there.
In Toussus-le-Noble, Château Landolff is a place that rarely opens its doors.
This former military site of the French Navy, sold in 2016 by the State to a private individual to turn it into a hotel, escaped tax for four years.
A specificity discovered by Marie-Line Albert, an elected opposition member, this fall.
Usually closed to the public, the place exceptionally opened its garden for European Heritage Days on September 20.
“When I made the visit, I noticed that work was being done but it had not been declared,” she explains.
"Passed under the radar"
After some research, she could not believe it: the castle has paid neither property tax nor housing tax since its purchase in 2016. “The rental value of the property, the one which serves as the basis for the calculations of local direct taxes, was at zero.
»Surprised by this anomaly, she informed the municipality.
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Immediately informed, this one contacts the departmental direction of the public finances.
After checking, the error is there.
Never taxed since it belonged to the State, the property had "gone under the radar".
For Thomas Haudecoeur, deputy mayor in charge of finances, the town hall has nothing to be ashamed of.
Whoever welcomes this discovery explains that "the town is not responsible for collecting or calculating taxes".
According to him, when the state sold the property in 2016, the tax administration was simply not informed.
“At the town hall we were aware of this change of owner,” he admits.
But no one asked more questions about this property.
13,567 euros returned to the village
According to an estimate from the public finance department, the castle should return 13,567 euros to the village of Toussus-le-Noble for the four years of unpaid taxes.
"The sum should be paid before the end of the year", specifies Thomas Haudecoeur.
For the municipality, the incident is closed.
“A derisory amount, according to Marie-Line Albert, compared to the taxes actually due and the area of this exceptional property.
"
Called a chateau when it is more of a villa, the building was built in 1900 for Charles Edmond Landolff, costume designer for the theaters of Paris.
Bought in 1925 by a Greek shipowner, the building, hit by a bombardment in 1944, was the property of the French Navy for seventy years.
All the buildings represent more than 1,500 square meters of living space.
Toussus-le-Noble, Thursday, May 20, 2021 Jeanne Cassard
Above all, she specifies, that in this village of about 1,000 inhabitants, "local taxes have increased by more than 30% in three years in the town".
The deputy mayor assures him that there would no longer be any shortfall for the municipality: “since this place will become a hotel and no one lives there, it is not the same taxes as the other inhabitants that apply ”.
Contacted, the departmental public finance directorate of Yvelines refuses to comment.
