Paper tax forms could cost €2
With postal bill running to €202million a year, Finance Ministry looks at ways to cut its costs
FILLING in a paper tax form could cost €2 under plans put to the Finance Ministry – with ministers hoping to save €100million by pushing people towards completing their tax declaration online.
The move is just one of several put forward to the ministry as ways to cut the cost of bureaucracy.
Last year postal costs alone for the annual tax forms and other tax notices amounted to €202m with 360m forms and notices being sent out for income tax and others such as the taxe d'habitation. Sending out the 126m 2014 tax forms cost nearly €57m.
A report to parliament by the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP) said the government had cut these costs by 15% in 2011 and could look to halve the number of forms sent out within five to 10 years.
Last year 13m taxpayers completed their tax forms online. The numbers for this year are not yet known but those who did so should get their avis d'impôt 2015 in the personal area of the tax website between July 22 and August 21, while paper notices will be posted to those who completed paper forms between August 7 and September 7.
Budget Minister Christian Eckert said the €2 plan was “only to stimulate discussion” and would only apply once the majority of people were doing their tax online. It was not part of the government’s programme.
At present expats who become tax resident in France must complete a paper tax form when they enter the French tax system.
The government’s plans to switch to a PAYE-type system from 2018 would not mean that people would no longer have to fill in tax forms as this would still be necessary for the different family formats, tax allowances and benefits to be applied.
