A firm settled in Biot will have to pay a 12.5% trade income tax rate, whereas another on the other side of the pavement will have a 20.5% trade income tax rate to pay. A real stupidity in the technopole!
The file opened by the UDECA (French Riviera's corporations' union) is very interesting. First of all, it shows how firms' tax increased in ten years because of the trade income tax. But in Sophia it is even more interesting, because in the same technological area five different trade income tax rates exist. A firm in Biot will have to pay a 12.5% trade income tax rate, another one settled in Antibes which is only hundreds of metres far from Biot, will have to pay a 20.1% trade income tax rate.
An harmonisation for a rise
As says the UDECA, the only harmonisation that happened in ten years throughout the five districts is an harmonisation for a rise! The five trade income tax rates (except Vallauris whose rate have decreased) increased by following almost the same rhythm.
Well anyone will be allowed to discuss about the figures the UDECA presented. The reason is obvious: it deals with all the five districts. And if the trade income tax that Valbonne receives (almost 80 million francs) essentially comes from sophipolitan firms, it is not the case for Antibes. The sophipolitan part of trade income tax (that represents about 122 million francs) which is received by Antibes is weak enough (between 20 and 30 million francs only). Same thing for Golfe-Juan Vallauris. Out of 277 million francs of the five districts trade income tax in 1999, the sophipolitan part is estimated at 150 million francs.
The district part and the part of the department for the trade income tax have increased in ten years. Year after year the trade income tax has become more and more heavy till becoming impossible today, even if the rates do not push anymore to the rise as it was the case at the beginning of the nineties when firms were going through a period of crisis.
Maybe an only rate of taxation throughout the technopole
Another point of the investigation: how could it be possible to reach an harmonisation of the trade income tax for the five districts of the park? Now we speak of districts communities, which would imply a same rate throughout Sophia Antipolis. Now we can talk about a rate that would be around 16 or 16.5%, actually it is Valbonne's rate. If the firms that are settled in Vallauris or in Antibes will applaud this reform, on the contrary firms like Amadeus or Compaq that are settled in Biot will not appreciate it!
Going from a 12.5%rate to a 16.5% rate would imply a 30% increase of their tax to pay. A big firm that now pays 6 million francs of tax would pay 8! The trade income tax in Sophia Antipolis (and even more in Nice where the rate is extremely dissuasive: 25%!) will continue to be a problem for the firms!