Local taxes, hospital costs or parking tickets: soon, you will no longer have to go to the tax center to pay off your debt to the state. From February 24, 600 tobacco shops located in ten departments (Corrèze, Côtes-d'Armor, Corse du Sud, Gard, Loire, Marne, Oise, Haute-Saône, Yvelines, Vaucluse) will offer their customers the possibility of paying certain taxes directly in their trade.
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According to Philippe Coy, the president of the National Confederation of tobacconists, the operation will be gradually extended to the whole territory, DOM-TOM included, by July 1, 2020. On this date, some 6,200 partner tobacco shops will offer this new service.
As simple as a Loto grid
Last summer, the national confederation of tobacconists, in association with the Française des jeux (FDJ) won the tender. La Poste's application had not been accepted by the Directorate General of Public Finance (DGFiP). The FDJ will bring "its commercial force to canvass tobacconists" as well as its centralized infrastructure.
"The collection of taxes will work in a manner almost similar to that of the Loto grids"
Philippe Coy, president of the National Confederation of tobacconistsA welcome cooperation, since " the collection of taxes will work in a manner almost similar to the collection of Loto grids ", explains Philippe Coy. “ The procedure will be very simple: the user will scan his tax sheet on the reader of La Française des Jeux. The amount of tax payable will then be displayed on our screen - without specifying the nature of the payment - to preserve the confidentiality of our customers . The taxpayer can even choose to pay only part of the tax, ”he continues.
2 million transactions settled each year, according to the government
Cash payments will be limited to 300 euros. They will then be centralized and transferred directly to the DGFiP one day after being carried out. Since December 19, 2019, voluntary tobacconists have been trained through six online training modules (for a total duration of 30 to 40 minutes), at the end of which they obtain a "validating certificate". No question, however, of replacing Treasury agents: " We are in no way there to advise our clients or grant them tax relief, " notes the President of the Confederation.
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Bercy estimates that around two million transactions will take place each year. Each of them will bring 1.5 euros to the tobacconist. Free for the taxpayer, the new service should therefore cost around 3 million euros to the Treasury. " Beyond the direct gain, it is a great opportunity for our confederation to diversify, " hopes Philippe Coy. "This is an opportunity to boost our activity by highlighting our regional presence, without common measure" he concludes.