Second amendment finance law 2022: year-end tax measures for professionals
Initial investments in Corsica eligible for the CIIC, compensation for the transfer of retired general insurance agents and the extension of the property tax exemption in favor of rural buildings to farming companies: these are the second tax measures adopted in favor of the fiscal law for 2022. of professionals.
Very short law No. 1 2022-1499, adopted quickly without using Article 49.3 of the Constitutioner December 2022 of the financial changes for 2022 (JORF n° 0279 2 December 2022) brings some new tax measures for professionals.
Insurance and pension agent: the end of inequality
Section 1er The Second Amending Finance Law of 2022 (LFR 2022-2) puts an end to the disparity in rights faced by some general insurance agents regarding a special mechanism for exemption from income tax on capital gains made in the context of sales. agriculture, craft, commercial, industrial or liberal activity and pension (CGI, article 151) septies HAS).
In the common law regime, the exemption mechanism is subject to the condition that the period between these two events (appointment and retirement or retirement and appointment) does not exceed 24 months. To take into account the crisis due to Covid-19 and the difficulties faced by professionals when selling their businesses, the legislator provided a temporary extension of 36 months between the two deadlines – the sale and retirement – when the seller claims. Pension rights between 1er January 2019 and December 31, 2021 and retirement is before transfer.
However, general insurance agents who terminate their contracts with their parent companies and thus receive a compensation payment may benefit from income tax exemption of this compensation compensation provided that less than 12 months have passed since the termination. from the contract to claim pension rights. The law restores their rights by extending this period to two years.
In addition, the law intervenes on a second point. In order for these insurance agents who transferred their clients to their parent company to be exempt from income tax, the law required them to continue their activities in full for 12 months after the termination of their activities. However, compliance with this condition does not depend on the agent, but on the mandated company, which must find a successor. LFR 2022-2 extends the period available to companies to find a successor to two years.
The reform goes into effect on December 3, 2022, but should only apply to situations that have not yet expired on the law’s effective date.
Tax credit for investments in Corsica
Article 2 of LFR 2022-2, initiated by the Senate, defines the concept of initial investment (CIIC) entitling to a tax credit in Corsica. Small and medium-sized enterprises subject to income tax under the de facto tax system or corporation tax and operating between 1er From January 2002 and until December 31, 2023, certain investments for the needs of industrial, commercial, artisanal, liberal or agricultural exploitation located in Corsica can benefit from tax relief on the title of these investments under certain conditions. (CGI, article 244 quarter E). Eligible companies are SMEs with less than 250 employees in Corsica with a turnover of less than 50 million euros or a total balance sheet of less than 43 million euros.
Investments to be eligible for the tax credit must be financed without public assistance to the extent of at least 25% of their amount. Finally, the benefit of tax relief equal to 20% of the cost excluding tax (or 30% for VSEs) is available if the investment is held for at least 5 years or its normal life. use if less.
According to administrative doctrine, these are fixed assets that are depreciated using the declining balance method and fixtures and fittings of commercial buildings open to customers, usually created or acquired in new condition; goods, equipment and fixtures leased from the leasing company, software, which are elements of fixed assets and necessary for the use of the above-mentioned investments, renovation works in hotels and from 1 year.er January 2021, construction and repair works in private health facilities (BOFIP-BIC-RICI-10-60-15-10).
In contrast to replacement investments, which are exempted according to the European rules on state aid for regional purposes (Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of 17 June 2014), CIIC only applies to initial investments. The regulation defines these initial investments as, in addition to the creation of an enterprise, but also the expansion of the capabilities of an existing enterprise, the diversification of the enterprise’s production into products it did not produce before, or capital investments. change in the entire production process of the existing enterprise.
The LFR expressly refers to the European framework of the Common Tax Code and stipulates that the relevant investments should be considered as initial investments within the meaning of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of the Commission of June 17, 2014, referred to above.
In addition, the law stipulates that “when the replacement investment allows the expansion or diversification of the company’s production capacity, the share of this investment corresponding to the expansion or diversification of the production capacity can be compared with the initial investment. This clarification confirms the administrative doctrine that has already included this reference in European regulations (BOFIP-BIC-RICI-10-60-15-10, § 400).
Property tax exemption for rural buildings was extended to agricultural companies
Article 16 of the LFR for 2022-2 includes a permanent exemption from property tax (TFPB) on properties constructed for the benefit of rural buildings permanently and exclusively for agricultural use to agricultural companies (CGI, 1382, 6° b). So far, only certain organizations covered by the law have benefited from it, namely agricultural cooperatives, associations of agricultural cooperatives or consumer cooperatives, exclusively agricultural trade union associations, their associations and land associations, agricultural collective interest companies. SICA), professional agricultural associations, livestock companies, agricultural associations, as well as their unions and federations, as well as their associations and federations, as well as established economic interest groups (EIGs) among agricultural enterprises, which are dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, whose purpose is to promote agricultural production.
After that, for the TFPB taxes due from 2023, companies, regardless of their legal form, only benefit from it formed between agricultural partners. However, said premises shall be used only for the agricultural operations of those partners.
