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French National Assembly Agrees To Global Ceiling On Tax Breaks,
by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The French National Assembly Finance committee has ratified a parliamentary change
to the 2009 Finance Bill, aiming to impose a global ceiling on tax breaks for any one individual.
Presented by parliamentary budget rapporteur Gilles Carrez, the amendment limits the total amount
that can be claimed by any one individual to EUR25,000 plus 10% of gross taxable income.
Deductions for a household disposing of a taxable income of EUR100,000
would, for example, therefore be capped at EUR35,000, and at EUR45,000 for those
with an income of EUR200,000.
Extolled by the French government, the Carrez initiative matches a similar rule recently imposed on tax relief for property investments in 'DOM-TOMs' (French Overseas Departments and Territories) for which there is a limit on tax deductions of EUR40,000 in net returns or 15% of
gross taxable income.
The global ceiling on deductions will only
apply to specified tax breaks, most notably to relief granted to aid
employment at home or overseas and also includes the tax deduction allowed on property
interest, adopted in the summer of 2007. Some deductions will be outside the cap, including the 'quotient familial' or family tax allowance.
Certain tax breaks will be transformed into tax credits thus limiting their
effect on the 'bouclier fiscal' or tax shield. This will apply for instance to
the Malraux Law pertaining to renovation works carried out in protected zones.
The tax credit in that case will correspond to 25% of the cost of works carried out in
urban and rural zones of architectural heritage protection and to 35% in safeguarded
sectors, up to a limit of EUR100,000. According to Carrez, the credits may be
applied cumulatively over a three year period.
Other proposals outlined by Carrez include the introduction of a system designed
to reduce the amount of tax levied on landlords renting professional property,
particularly as regards investments in new 'service' residences,
such as retirement homes and student accommodation. The tax reductions will
represent 5% of the sum involved, up to a limit of EUR25,000.
Renovation work undertaken on historical monuments will remain exempt from
the global cap on deductions. Although the finance committee has expressed its wish to
impose a ceiling of up to EUR200,000 for monuments not open to the public, the
government is opposing the move. Provided that the property is conserved for
a minimum of 15 years, and that joint ownership tax does not apply, the existing
tax relief will remain.
President of the Finance Committee Didier Migaud, had opposed the
concept of imposing a cap expressed purely as a percentage of income, emphasising
that would benefit the most wealthy and go against the progressive notion of
income tax.
The text of the law will be examined this week and has the full support of Budget Minister
Eric Woerth.
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