From e.g. propertycommunity.com:
"The French property market has only just weathered the storm created by the incompetence of the banking sector, and could now be led into even more turbulent waters by the political manoeuvring of Francois Baroin and the current government," said Trevor Leggett, chief executive of Leggett Immobilier.
"This proposed tax of 20% is an idea that came about without any consultation of those of us within the industry. With the current, favourable, taxation regime in France an increasing number of UK and European citizens are looking to retire over here and we believe that there are far more efficient and equitable ways for the Government to balance the books."
Or from The Telegraph:
Christopher Bailey, 69, a retired management consultant, and his wife Georgina Howell, an author, who own a medieval manor which they renovated in north west France, said they resented the extra levy. Mr Bailey said: “I’m angry because we already make quite an adequate contribution. To keep what is a fairly substantial property in France, we’re having to find other sources of income. Now we might have to sell up.”
The couple are not alone. Stewart Cook, a property agent with the firm Classic French Homes, said: “Already hit by a weak pound, many British owners who are having to consider selling on economic grounds will treat this news as the last straw.”
Or from TaxFreeNews:
... opponents of the tax have warned that the plans will simply prove too costly for non-residents, and will merely serve to adversely affect property purchases by foreigners, and to discourage foreigners from investing and creating jobs in France.
I think you get the picture.
And how much is this terrible, devastating, socialistically life-threatening tax, roughly?
For example, a family with a two-bedroom flat in Normandy worth £350,000 would have to pay roughly an extra £700 a year; or the owners of £5.5m second home in a fashionable part of Paris would pay around £3,400 extra a year.
Ah, right.
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5 comments:
I would never buy a house in France, simply because the French have no concept of private property. You would like it.
Miserable whining so-and-so's.
The tax fonciere and the tax d'habitation are usually considerably less than they'd pay on equivalent property in the UK.
And I suppose Mr Leggett might be a man who's profited richly from the "incompetent banks" who lent the money to allow his over-leveraged clients to buy the houses. Arranging (euro!) mortgages, selling properties..... all those people who were sold euro mortgages 4 or 5 years ago because rates were nice and low, but no one ever mentioned exchange rate risk.
Still, if you've got cash, a French cottage might be just the thing when they're back down to about €20,000.
HAHA!
Please help, hungry and second home-less.
BE, I am a strong defender of the idea of private property, hence my opposition to taxing incomes and output.
It's simply the case that land values are not generated by the land owner, they are generated by society in general. While the right to exclusive possession of land and buildings is a pretty fundamental right, I see no reason why the beneficiaries of this right shouldn't pay society in general for the location value they consume.
FT, yup, it's not like he's biased or anything.
BNJ, it's cheaper renting a gite for a couple of weeks a year than owning something outright, what's the problem with these people?
if it doesn't apply to French nationals I can't see how it would go through (EU). However an interesting technical point is if it only applies to foreigners then it is actually moving money from foreign countries and putting it in the hands of the French treasury, a very political act.
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