French National Assembly Proposes Property Tax for Travellers
03 April 2006
According to a 23 November 2005 article in the French national newspaper Le Monde, the French National Assembly voted on and adopted, on the night of the 22nd, an amendment that would create a property tax on 'mobile residences', essentially intended to target travelers. The amendment was introduced by Jérome Chartier, member of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire party, during an examination of the budget for 2006 and it plans to base the property tax on square metres of surface in each mobile residence, imposing a 75 EUR charge for each square metre additional to the minimum tax-free space of 4 square metres. The National Assembly also adopted a sub-amendment which foresees that the product of this tax be reinvested in the communities which 'respect their material obligations to provide settlement areas' for Travellers.
Le Monde reported that this is the third consecutive year that Mr. Chartier had proposed the amendment. Jean-Pierre Brard, affiliated with the Parti Communiste Français, noted that it would be difficult to collect this tax since 'de facto these families are insolvent'. According to him, 25 EUR could be 'realistically collected, not 75'. Indeed, while all French citizens pay property tax varying based on size, location and income, such tax is rarely as much as 75 EUR per square metre. An apartment in Paris measuring about 60 square metres, for example, is taxed approximately 250 EUR, while one in Strasbourg measuring about 90 square metres is taxed approximately 850 EUR. Revenue from property taxes is intended to cover cost associated with city services and many travelers who will be forced to pay such high property taxes do not have access to these services. Even with the property tax in place, travelers' caravans are still not considered 'houses' for the purposes of French social security benefits.
As of 20 March 2006, the ERRC was informed that the new tax legislation was subsequently approved by the Senate and published in the "Journal Officiel' on 31 December 2005. The legislation, Article 92 of the Financial Project Act 2006, will take effect on 1 January 2007 creating a property tax on "mobile residences" of 25 EUR per square metre.
(ERRC, Le Monde)
