France – President offers Token Tax Cut for Households
The French is to announce some tax cuts for families in France, according to reports, but the amount of the tax cuts has not been decided and may depend on further reductions in government expenditure. The President also plans to lower labor costs
See MoreFrance- Court Rules in Research Tax Credit Case
In France a tax credit known as the Crédit Impôt Recherche (CIR) is available for certain research and development expenditure by businesses. A recent case (No. 1219816) involved an appeal from a business advisory firm, in respect of the partial
See MoreFrance Reintroduces Rules for Creative Tax Credit
The creative tax credit is given to innovative enterprises in the area of arts and crafts. A company in this sector may obtain a 10% tax credit for expenditure on new products, including the cost of wages, design and protection of new models. The
See MoreFrance – VAT on house improvement rises
France has confirmed that the reduced rate of VAT on home improvements is to rise from 7 percent to 10 percent. The previous 7 percent rate will however still apply in certain situations including work that began before 1 January 2014 and cases
See MoreFrance – Sin Taxes should target health care goals
In France a committee of the Senate has suggested that the behavioral taxes on certain goods such as tobacco and spirits should be more directly linked to government public health targets. These taxes could be renamed public health contributions to
See MoreFrance – Employers demand Corporate Tax Cuts
Anxious to kick-start talks on a reform of corporation tax, the President of the French employers' federation Medef, has called on the Government to lower the corporate social solidarity contribution (C3S) together with the headline rate of
See MoreFrance Urged To Review Social Housing Tax Break
Under the French tax law there is tax relief available in respect of social housing in certain overseas areas, in an effort to increase the supply of low cost residential accommodation. The French Court of Auditors has however called on the
See MoreFrance – VAT on hotel accommodation may be damaging the tourism sector
In the opinion of some commentators the 1 January 2014 increase in VAT on hotel accommodation may be damaging the French tourism sector. The French hotel VAT rate rose from 7% to 10% in 2014 as part of reorganization of all French VAT rates –
See MoreFrance employers and unions considering draft accord
The French trade unions are considering a draft accord that sets out the terms and conditions for a EUR30bn (USD41.6bn) reduction in labor costs. The main employers' associations Medef, the CGPME, and the UPA have drafted the agreement, which urges
See MoreFrance – Introduces new share saving plans
The French Government has published decree number 2014-283 of March 4, 2014, increasing the ceiling for investment in the tax-exempt share savings plan (PEA), and introducing a new share savings plan (PEA-PME) exclusively for investment in small-
See MoreSwitzerland urged to approve IHT agreement with France
The French Finance Minister has informed Switzerland that France will not renegotiate the revised inheritance tax (IHT) agreement the two countries have drafted if it is rejected by Swiss lawmakers. The revised Franco-Swiss IHT accord was signed in
See MoreIreland – Finance Minister Talks Fiscal Policy
According to the Irish Finance Minister the core objective of the Medium Term Economic Strategy (MTES) is full employment by 2020. In connection with this strategy Ireland will continue to prioritize taxation measures that ensure the recovery
See MoreFrance- Transfer Tax hiked
According to the French Tax Administration 66 out of the 101 departments in France have elected to increase their house transfer tax rate from March 1 2014. The house transfer tax is imposed on transactions involving older property. Other expenses
See MoreFrance To Simplify Tax System
The French General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) has found that 192 taxes in France each yield less than EUR150m (USD208m), and has advocated abolishing two-thirds of them. The report has been prepared by the IGF on behalf of the French Budget
See MoreFrance cuts VAT rate on digital news
The French government has updated the Tax Code to reduce the VAT rate on digital news and journals from the standard 20% rate to the reduced rate of 2.1%. This puts digital news on a par with printed newspapers and magazines. This change is in
See MoreFrance- Bank Account Regularization Requests
Almost 16,000 residents with undeclared foreign bank accounts have elected to regularize their tax situation in the last eight months, through a voluntary declaration of non-compliance. As of February 7, 2014 the tax authorities had received 15,813
See MoreFrance and Germany to cooperate on tax projects
France and Germany have jointly declared that they will cooperate on key tax agendas in Europe and internationally. A working group is to be set up and the group will consider how to harmonize regulations on incoming and outgoing cross-border
See MoreDTA between China and France
An income tax treaty, and Protocol, between China and France was signed in late November 2013. The treaty and related Protocol-once ratified and in force-would replace the existing treaty and Protocol originally signed in 1984. If the ratification
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