Potential French Property Tax Avoided
Much to the relief of overseas property owners in France, president Sarkozy has decided to scrap extra French property tax on overseas owners of holiday homes in France.
The French government is scrapping its proposed tax on holiday homes owned by non-residents. This about-turn will spark relief among thousands of Irish and British owners of properties in France.
According to French Property News the decision not to implement the proposed new French property tax was announced following a meeting on Saturday June 18th between President Sarkozy and Minister of Budget François Baroin.
On this date the tax came up against serious opposition from Senator Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam (UMP national secretary for French-British relations) and eight other senators representing French non-residents. The senators met the President at the Élysée Palais and presented their opposition to the tax. Alain Juppé, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was also, apparently against the proposed taxes.
Had the proposed French property tax gone ahead, there was still another huge stumbling block in the shape of EU law as it would have discriminated between residents and non-residents. This is something the EU will not tolerate, as Spain has found out to its cost.
The suggestion was that the tax, which would have affected around 360,000 households (of which more than half it is believed would be British) would have been levied annually and calculated as 20% of the property’s notional rental value (valeur locative cadastrale).
Read this article in full in French Property News.
