Around 200,000 Britons who own second homes in France could be hit by a new property tax due to come into force next January, say Andy Bloxham and Henry Samuel in The Daily Telegraph. The levy, which will be 20% of the estimated annual rental value of the property, is “due on any home which is rented out for part of the year”. So if you own a flat in Normandy worth £350,000, you would pay approximately £700 extra a year. A £5.5m house in a fashionable part of Paris would set you back an extra £3,400.
Non-resident second-home owners already pay two taxes: the taxe fonciere (paid by the owner) and the taxe d’habitation (paid by those who live in the house). Some expatriates, who are considered residents, pay wealth tax in addition to income tax. There’s still hope the tax may not be applied: it’s thought it could be challenged in the European Court on the grounds that it’s “discriminatory against foreign owners of second homes”. But the new tax is part of an overhaul of property tax laws and second-home owners should be vigilant.