“The Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts can only warn against a wait-and-see attitude that would lead to irreversible economic damage in the medium term,” it on the bill tabled at the beginning of February by CSV MPs , and .
While the chamber is still in favour of a super-reduced VAT rate (3%) for the creation of rental housing, it also defends the provisional increase in the tax credit for notarial acts to €50,000, compared with €30,000 in the tripartite agreement, considering that while property prices have risen sharply since 2022--which has had a beneficial effect on state revenue from registration fees--the amount of the tax credit has never been adapted and that the planned adaptation does not go far enough.
The chamber is also surprised to find the increase in the ceiling for the tax concession on housing VAT from €50,000 to €100,000 in the grounds for the bill, but not in the articles of the text. With the increase in the VAT rate from 15% to 17%, the ceiling for homeowners has been raised from €357,143 to €416,667. According to the chamber, this measure should be implemented as long as it is in line with European directives.
“On one hand, it could stimulate the demand for newly built housing and thus stabilise the activity of the construction sector, especially if the measure is limited in time. On the other hand, it could encourage homeowners to renovate their homes and help improve their energy performance,” it says in its opinion.
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While it does not really believe in the incentive effect of doubling the annual ceiling on deductible interest liabilities in relation to owner-occupied dwellings, the chamber also suggests temporarily abolishing the 7% registration fee on the share of the construction already completed, as in the case of a sale in the future state of completion (VEFA), making greater use of the special fund to support the development of housing--which could acquire projects that have been put on hold because of the situation--and withdrawing the government’s amendments to the legislation on rental leases.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.