[Telegraph] State auditors have told a French village near the Spanish border that it is "too rich" to continue taxing residents and should cancel council and property taxes this year.Le Perthus, a community of 586 people, earns more than £700,000 a year from parking fees alone, equivalent to nearly £1,200 per inhabitant.
People from the surrounding region park in the village while they cross the border on foot to shop in Spain, where food, clothes and household goods are cheaper.
The village council has a surplus of well over £1 million in its coffers, while its current spending is minimal. Accordingly, the regional audit office has advised it to abandon this year’s local taxes because it has "an abundance of resources that are not being used".
André Pezziardi, head of the Occitanie Audit Office, said: "We concluded that local taxation should be reduced to zero for council and property taxes because the contributions of citizens must have a quid pro quo, and that of course is expenditure."
Last year the council spent less than £5,000 of £240,000 earmarked for public facilities because the mayor and councillors failed to reach agreement on budgets.