A BFM Business report detailed France's failed attempt to tax the wealthy with a luxury boat surcharge. An online user shared the report to the r/France subreddit, which prompted widespread discussion on the topic.
In 2018, France implemented a luxury boat surcharge on French-registered private luxury yachts measuring over 30 meters, or 98 feet, long, and possessing over 750 kilowatts of propulsion energy. The taxed amount varied between €30,000 ($34,800) and €200,000 ($232,000), depending on the size and power of the boat.
The French government anticipated that this luxury boat tax would generate between €5 to €10 million, or about $5.7 million to $11.5 million, according to BFM. In reality, however, the collected fees were significantly lower than what the government had expected.
In 2024, the government only received €60,000 ($69,700) from luxury boat taxes, taxing a total of only five French luxury yachts.
"It's impossible that it brings in so little. That would mean that there are fewer than ten French nationals using large yachts. They're really taking us for fools!" said Joël Giraud, a parliament member from La République en Marche, according to BFM.
It seems that luxury yacht owners are "forgetting" to pay the tax, according to BFM, or are taking advantage of a loophole in the system. By re-flagging the yacht, the boat is no longer subject to the luxury yacht tax, which only applies to French-registered vessels.
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The tax would have created some resistance, forcing luxury boat owners to pause for a moment to reflect on the costs associated with running their massive luxury boats on a casual outing. According to Fortune, the world's top 300 superyachts emit almost 285,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, which is the equivalent of the carbon pollution emitted by driving 658,406,963 miles on an average gas-powered vehicle, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
France's luxury boat surcharge, which was enforced poorly, only drove luxury boat owners to nearby countries with laxer boating regulations. This loophole indicates the need for stricter limitations, such as triggering a daily impact fee for docked yachts, as Maine's state legislators proposed earlier this year.
This loophole also presents the opportunity for a potential cross-collaboration with nearby countries to enforce yachting regulations to minimize the environmental impact of luxury boating.
According to BFM, a large percentage of the revenue generated from this luxury boat tax would have gone to support the National Sea Rescue Society — an organization that offers emergency water rescues.
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The government 🏛️ "In other words, laws and taxes are always for the poor," one commenter retorted.
"Everything's set up to make those upper-class folks even richer," another user lamented.
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