Other news for April 2026

Legal action

The Finance Act for 2026 has introduced a contribution for legal aid due for any proceedings brought before a judicial court or a labor court since March 1. This contribution of €50 is due when the proceedings are brought by the party bringing the action, i.e., either by the litigant or by the lawyer on behalf of his client. It is paid electronically by means of a dematerialised stamp. Bearing in mind that when the same instance gives rise to several successive proceedings before the same court, the contribution is due only once, in respect of the first of the proceedings brought.

Exemptions from contributions

The Finance Act for 2026 has extended two social security contribution exemption schemes that should have ended on December 31, 2025: the one, more favorable than the ordinary law regime, relating to the employer’s coverage of employees’ public transport subscription costs and the exemption from social security contributions on tips. These exemption schemes have been extended until December 31, 2026.

Supervision of promotions

Temporarily introduced by the Agriculture and Food Act of October 30, 2018 and subsequently extended several times, most recently until April 15, 2028, the framework for promotions on foodstuffs does not apply to certain marked seasonal products, i.e. those for which more than half of the year’s sales are concentrated over a period of 12 weeks at most. It should be remembered that this derogation applies to Christmas turkeys, geese, capons, mini capons, hens, and guinea fowl capons, as well as Christmas and Easter chocolates, foie gras, wild mushrooms, canned, frozen, or dehydrated, and snails prepared in cans, frozen or fresh. This derogation, which was initially planned until March 1, 2023, has been renewed for the first time for three additional years, i.e., until March 1, 2026. It has just been renewed again until March 1, 2028.

Family holding companies

Patrimonial holding companies, subject to corporate tax, may be liable for a new tax on the sumptuary assets they hold, for budget years ending on or after December 31, 2026. The tax applies only to certain non-professional assets, known as “sumptuary assets,” exhaustively listed by law, such as, for example: property used for hunting and fishing, yachts, jewelry, racehorses, wines, and spirits, etc.