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The French Supreme Tax Court (Conseil d’État) ruled that the French withholding tax on the capital gain derived from the disposal of a substantial shareholding in a French company by a non-resident company is not compliant with EU law.
IN DEPTH
Background
Under the French participation exemption regime, the capital gain realized by a French parent company subject to French corporate tax upon the sale of a qualifying shareholding is exempt from taxation, subject to the inclusion of a lump sum representing 12% of the capital gain (which makes for an 88% exemption). This 12% inclusion does not constitute a partial taxation of the capital gain, but a way to recapture past deductible expenses in relation to the qualifying shareholding.