New advertising tax angers firms

A TAX on the surface area of outdoor advertising from billboards to framed menus on restaurant walls is angering firms.

The taxe locale sur la publicité extérieure, which was created in 2008, replaces three optional taxes on adverts.

Mairies can choose whether to apply it and if there are exonerations such as for smaller signs.

Some firms hit out because their areas previously had no such tax, because the new tax is more comprehensive than the previous regime or is being applied in a draconian way.