CGT discount enters into force

A SMALL decrease in gas prices and a reduction in Capital Gains Tax on the sale of second homes are part of the rentrée price changes that came into force on September 1.

The change in CGT rules gives complete exemption after 22 years of ownership and not the 30-year limit that was introduced in January. A one-off discount of 25% off of the tax is also being introduced until August 31, 2014.

The 25% discount will be included in the 2014 finance bill, which will be put forward at the end of this month – it will be applied retrospectively on properties sold after September 1, 2013.

More than eight million households will see GDF Suez gas bills fall slightly – down 0.1% for the 2.4 million who use it for cooking and for hot water, and down 0.2% for the six million who use gas for heating.

Two and a half million people are affected by changes in the minimum payment for the RSA benefit, which rises 2% to €493 (up €10) a month for a single person, to €1,035 a month for a couple with two children (up €10) and increases €17 to €844 for a single mother with a youngster aged under three.

Jobless young people in some regions will be able to get a benefit equivalent to the RSA to help them find a job. The monthly payment is an experiment that is being applied in Allier and Puy-de-Dôme, Aude, Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille), Eure, Finistère, Lot-et-Garonne, Vaucluse, Vosges, and east Seine-Saint-Denis.

The disabled person’s benefit AAH – which is paid to one million people - rises 1.75% to €790.18 a month for a single person.

Students and school-children in Ile-de-France will see a 3% rise in the cost of their bus and train pass. This pass benefits 800,000 under-26s who are in full-time education.
Photo: Steve Woods