France Denies Tax Amnesty

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

07 May 2009

Anticipating that a large number of French taxpayers will repatriate their assets back to France, given the recent clampdown by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on tax havens, and on banking secrecy in particular, France’s Budget Minister Eric Woerth has proposed various “solutions” designed to facilitate this process, although he has firmly ruled out any offer of according a tax amnesty.

Budget Minister Eric Woerth is confident that any French taxpayers, who have illegally transferred funds into tax havens in order to evade tax, will now be seeking to repatriate these funds for fear of prosecution, given the recent drive for transparency.

Adamant that these taxpayers will not be granted a tax amnesty, the Minister has confirmed that they will have to pay not only the eluded tax, but also any late interest and penalty charges, amounting to up to 80% of the sum involved.

However, according to Eric Woerth, each case will be assessed individually, and any extenuating circumstances taken into account. Any taxpayers deemed to have acted in good faith, for example having inherited a particular asset located in a tax haven, may be granted a partial reduction in penalties.

With regard to non-residents or expatriates now wishing to return to France, the Budget Minister has announced the setting up of a new service, “le Service d’accueil des non-résidents” or “SANR”, solely responsible for welcoming non-residents and answering any tax queries.

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