French Finance Bill to confirm VAT rate rises and changes

The 2014 French Finance Bill has been announced this week, confirming a number of already announced French VAT rate changes, including:

• The standard French VAT rate is to rise from 19.6% to 20% on 1 January 2014.  This was originally announced in November 2012. The average EU VAT rate is now over 21%.
• The French VAT rate applicable to restaurant food and related services will rise from 7% to 10%
• Electricity, gas and related domestic power will fall from 5.5% to 5% VAT
• Social housing will now be subject to the reduced 5% French VAT rate

Sales tax rates, rules, and regulations change frequently. Although we hope you'll find this information helpful, this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal or tax advice.