Nanny uproar at nappy tax

Officials in the Communauté de communes des Terres du Lauragais in the Haute-Garonne have voted for a “taxe-couche-culotte” or "nappy tax"

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The officials voted on July 11 to impose the 92 euro tax, to contribute to the cost of removing extra waste, specifically used nappies and yogurt pots.

"We already pay a 30 cent tax when we buy the nappies and yogurts in the shop. This new tax is unfair and wrong. The tax has only been imposed on people from Cap Lauragais, so it is discriminatory," nanny collective member Eliette Pujol-Théron told France Bleu.

Nannies have threatened to pass the cost on to parents, charging an extra 30 cents per euro per day for each child.

The decision to impose the tax was made last year and nannies in Villefranche-de-Lauragais mobilised in protest. 108 nannies formed a collective and launched an online petition against the tax. The petition received nearly 15,000 signatures.

The president of the Communauté de communes Terres du Lauragais, Christian Portet, told France Bleu: "As long as nannies are practicing their profession at home or in nurseries, they will be subject to the tax, in the same way any self-employed person at home working behind a computer is subject to taxes."

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