France’s tax office has told bullfighting rings that they aren’t eligible for a reduced 5.5.% value added tax rate and must instead pay the much higher 20% rate.
In guidance published Oct. 31 the government said that the blood sport is a spectacle that isn’t equivalent to variety shows. Variety shows in France are subject to a much lower 5.5% rate.
- The guidance follows a Feb. 15 2019 judgment by France’s constitutional court, Conseil d’État, that dismissed bullfighting company Plateau de Valras’s legal bid to be reclassified as a variety show.
- The company had argued that because bullfighting is a “live” show, it could classify under an exemption.
- However, the court ruled that it couldn’t do this and forced the company to pay the difference in tax accumulated from it failing to charge the higher rate.
- Bullfighting is illegal in most countries but is permitted in all but a few regions of France.
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