At its meeting on 23 October, the Committee of Ministers ended its supervision of the execution of the Waldner v. France case.
In this case, the applicant, a lawyer, was subject to a 25% increase in his taxable income for the years 2006 to 2011, for having refused to join a management body approved by the tax authorities to receive its members' tax returns. The Court considered that this increase, although pursuing the legitimate aim of ensuring the payment of tax, did not have a sufficient ‘reasonable basis’, being contrary to the general philosophy of the system based on taxpayers' declarations presumed to be made in good faith and to be correct. It therefore concluded that there had been an infringement of the applicant's right to respect for his property (Article 1 of Protocol No. 1).
Prior to the Court's judgment, the Finance Act 2021 already provided for the gradual reduction of this surcharge until its complete abolition from 2023. Henceforth, the absence of recourse to a management or other approved body or chartered accountant by holders of income from self-employed activities will no longer give rise to a tax surcharge.
For situations prior to the repeal of the said surcharge, the taxpayers concerned may lodge a claim, which will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the Court’s judgment and the conditions of admissibility set out in the General Tax Code. A note to this effect was sent on 1 March 2024 by the Director General of Public Finance to the tax management, tax audit, tax assessment and collection litigation departments. On the basis of the Court's judgment, the administrative judge has already, on several occasions, annulled the application of the disputed increase before it was repealed.
