President Macron's tax has been hailed in France
Reuters
The French have welcomed the new tax on second-home owners in the country.
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Macron's tax on British expats has been hailed by the French as a welcome charge that could discourage Britons moving in.
The French president has hit those who own second homes in the country with a council tax rise of up to 60 per cent.
Macron has allowed 3,399 councils to increase residence tax, impacting thousands of UK-born homeowners.
GB News commentator in France, David Chazan explained that second-home owners were a 'soft target' for the French President who 'aren't going to complain too loudly.'
He told GB News: “This was one of President Macron's flagship policies when he first came to office back in 2017, and he promised that most French people would be exempt from what we would think of as council taxes, but not second homeowners.
"So why not second homeowners? There's about 3 million of them in France, including some or an estimated 86,000 Britains.
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“Basically, they're a soft target. Nobody's going to feel sorry for people who've got enough money to afford a second home.
"Second homeowners are not the kind of people who are going to stage the street protests which are so common in France. So this is a way of raising money.
The tax will mean UK expats in France face a minimum if 7.1 per cent increase this year across the country.
Local councils have also been given discretionary powers to put additional surcharges on residents – which could be anything from 5 to 60 per cent.
Chazan explained: “It is a bit of a stealth tax in some respects, but it also responds to a growing feeling among people in areas that are very popular with second homeowners, whether those second homeowners come from Paris or Leon, or from London or from elsewhere in the UK.
“In many areas they are simply not popular. Why? Because locals feel that they drive house prices too high, make them unaffordable for local people.
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“So they're quite happy to see the government doing this.”
The move will add further frustrations to many of the 86,000 British households who own second homes on the other side of the Channel.
The announcement comes after post-Brexit restrictions were brought in which forced owners of properties to adhere to stricter visa rules while visiting their homes in European Union member states.
