Monaco blossoms as french tax changes hammer traditional riviera deals

New French property tax laws are pushing wealthy buyers away from the traditional Riviera resorts and into Monaco say local agency and accountancy experts.

Monaco is becoming an ever-more “popular choice of tax residence not only because there is no wealth or income tax but also because of its aspirational location on the Coast, its high quality of life and its high levels of security,” Cecile Acolas of tax advice and residential planning consultancy Ellisium Partners told OPP this week.

Ellisium Partners, which runs a network of specialist agencies for international poperty buyers looking for a luxury home on the Cote d’Azur and the surrounding region, believes that “the latest French tax reforms - which are applicable from 1st January 2012 – (have led to) additional tax advantages when buying a property in Monaco.”

Acolas told OPP that “the June 2011 law reduced to 4.5% the registration tax charged on a typical Monaco property sale. Monaco in particular allows an investor to rent their property without any tax on the rental income and also to sell a property without paying Capital Gains Tax.”

Source: OPP.org.uk