In a proposed amendment to the Macron reform, law maker Richard Ferrand said jewellery, yachts and cars did not contribute to the French economy and should be taxed.
Macron had pledged during his election campaign to simplify French wealth tax from a range of assets to focus on property only.
The idea was to make the country more attractive to wealthy investors. Instead he has found himself labelled ‘president of the rich’.
Reporting requirements
The new tax, included in the French government’s draft Finance Bill 2018 and dubbed IFI (impôt sur la fortune immobilière), is replacing its wealth tax impôt de solidarité.
When it comes into effect on 1 January 2018 the new IFI will retain the ISF’s current characteristics, including its threshold, rate scale, periodicity, evaluation rules, payment methods (including donations to public interest causes), and even the ceiling rule in respect of the taxpayers’ income.
The taxpayers’ reporting requirements will also be very close to those currently in force for those subject to the ISF.
However, in its original draft, the reformed tax applies only to real estate held directly by the individual and through company shares.
French tax expert Daniel Gutmann, partner, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre, said it was too soon to assess the impact of the Ferrand amendment on the overall Macron reform.
