Tourist parking fees may allow French town to stop taxing its residents

A French village may stop charging its residents taxes after state auditors found that the local council already has too much money in its accounts.

Le Perthus, a Pyrenees town on the French-Spanish border, earns close to €800,000 ($936,000) per year from parking facilities used by visitors who cross to Spain to buy cheaper goods. The income, and the town’s lack of spending, has left the council with more than €1 million ($1.17 million) in cash reserves – and auditors now say it should think about doing away with taxes altogether.

“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,” Andre Pezziardi, head of the Occitanie Audit Office, said.

The council reportedly has a large amount of resources it does not use, with only €5,000 ($5,850) of its €270,000 ($316,000) budget for public facilities being spent last year.