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The historic buildings are not tax niches
Reform, Lagarde report/ratio, dramatic consequences, social economic, cultural.
Without the tax deductions, the restoration and the handing-over on level of many historic buildings, since forty years, could not have been concluded.
And much remains to make if one believes of it the last report of the ministry for the Culture on the state of the inheritance.
The ministry for the Economy, Industry and Employment has just distributed a Report/ratio evaluating the use and the economic impact and social of the provisions making it possible taxpayers to reduce their income tax without limitation of amount.
This document was badly interpreted, it does not show the expression of tax niche.
On the contrary, he recognizes the cogency of a very dynamic policy of restoration of the inheritance and does not call in question the possibility of public finance.
However, the proposals, although presented in a spirit of clarification, would result in a drastic reduction of this financing.
Many historic buildings, of which most interesting, would be put in danger in all the areas of France.
The owner-managers of listed monuments or registered voters are collaborators of the public authorities.
The Code of Patrimoine*, basic text, assigns a mission of public interest to them.
Since 2005 **, they have also the responsibility for their monuments in front of the community.
The General Tax Code *** specifies that these monuments belong to the national heritage.
Consequently, the tax deductions do not constitute an advantage granted the owner-managers, but well a burden-sharing of their mission, between the State and themselves.
Moreover, if the monuments “cost”, they “pay” more still to the community: the tax exemptions represent approximately 30 million € **** and the subsidies, in constant fall, are about 15 € million (- 30% since 2003,-30% envisaged again over the only year 2008), but the monuments are contributors with the financing of the community: taxes of State, real estate taxes, national insurance contributions for their employees, etc, these contributions represent more than 90 € million for the community.
There is no reason to still weigh down their contribution.
*Reprenant the law of 1913, ** the Ordinance of September 8, 2005, *** Article 41 H of appendix III, **** Estimate of the Historical Residence taken again by the Lagarde report/ratio
Temptation to found two categories of loads, far from clarifying, would lead to a dead end the Lagarde report/ratio proposes to distinguish:
1) specific charges to the deductible historic buildings without ceiling.
2) other loads, clear of incomes corresponding, reached a maximum to 10.700 €, the same ceiling as for the owners of “ordinary” houses.
But all the loads of the historic buildings are more or less specific:
All work, important or not, must be realized in the respect of the building and supports strict constraints, which generates high overcosts (approximately 30% according to work).
The loads of guarding, maintenance, insurance and real estate tax, are generally without common measurement with those of ordinary house an “.
The historic building must remain open to the visits lasting of long periods, even if few visitors are presented, which makes this activity overdrawn.
Consequently, how to determine what is specific of what is not it?
Moreover, the reference to the “ordinary” houses would be deprived of significance.
Those produce rents and are overdrawn only in an occasional way, whereas the majority of the historic buildings opened with the public are structurally overdrawn.
Levelling off and good management of the historic buildings are incompatible besides.
Indeed, any levelling off of the expenditure would reach with the first chief the most degraded largest monuments or.
However they are often most interesting, and in any case, those which deserve the most attention and of support.
The research of the clarification must borrow other ways and avoid the perverse effects of the pseudo good idea.
The Historical Residence, recognized association of public utility which groups 2.500 listed monuments or registered voters, of which the half are opened to the public, shares the desire of clarification expressed by the Lagarde report/ratio.
She is delighted that this report/ratio takes again one of its proposals aiming at encouraging the projects of the owner-managers of the historic buildings which register their action in the duration.
Moreover, the proposals that the Historical Residence transmitted a few months ago at the Committee of supply of the National Assembly have the same objective of clarification, while making it possible to improve safeguarding of the integrity of the private historic buildings and the maintenance of an equity with respect to the owner-managers who support increasingly heavy and expensive constraints with the profit of the community (work, safety, deficit resulting from the opening to the public…).
“We have the impression to be condemned to a `double peine' by the Government, the State grants already almost disappeared, and, to save 30 € million, the tax reform considered would have catastrophic consequences at the local level: a great number of monuments would be constrained to stop the process of restoration and to close their doors with the public, removing hundreds of direct uses and indirect, in particular in the specialized companies which intervene on the sites and in the related services with tourism”, regrets Jean de Lambertye, chair Historical Residence.
Relation-press:
The Historical Residence
Hotel of Nesmond
57, quai de la Tournelle
75005
Paris
Telephone: 01-55-42-60-00
Fax: 01-43-29-36-44
Francoise Barquin
Email: frbarquin@lobbycom.fr
Press release by Delphine Julie
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