Cgt discount enters into force

OWNERS OF SECOND HOMES BENEFIT FROM NEW CAPITAL GAINS TAX RULES AS PART OF SEPT 1 RENTRÉE PRICE CHANGES A SMALL decrease in gas prices and a reduction in Capital Gains Tax on the sale of

second homes are part of the _rentrée_ price changes that came into force on September 1. The change in CGT rules gives complete exemption after 22 years of ownership and not the 30-year

limit that was introduced in January. A one-off discount of 25% off of the tax is also being introduced until August 31, 2014. The 25% discount will be included in the 2014 finance bill,

which will be put forward at the end of this month – it will be applied retrospectively on properties sold after September 1, 2013. More than eight million households will see GDF Suez gas

bills fall slightly – down 0.1% for the 2.4 million who use it for cooking and for hot water, and down 0.2% for the six million who use gas for heating. Two and a half million people are

affected by changes in the minimum payment for the RSA benefit, which rises 2% to €493 (up €10) a month for a single person, to €1,035 a month for a couple with two children (up €10) and

increases €17 to €844 for a single mother with a youngster aged under three. Jobless young people in some regions will be able to get a benefit equivalent to the RSA to help them find a job.

The monthly payment is an experiment that is being applied in Allier and Puy-de-Dôme, Aude, Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille), Eure, Finistère, Lot-et-Garonne, Vaucluse, Vosges, and east

Seine-Saint-Denis. The disabled person’s benefit AAH – which is paid to one million people - rises 1.75% to €790.18 a month for a single person. Students and school-children in Ile-de-France

will see a 3% rise in the cost of their bus and train pass. This pass benefits 800,000 under-26s who are in full-time education. Photo: Steve Woods