Palenque

Forgot the exact % but today's NYTimes carried a blurb saying the French Government will reduce the current V A T (tax) on restaurant meals from about 20% down to 5.5% - but the tax on booze served will not be lowered.

So for any average meal tourists will save several euros.


Cut in France's VAT benefits restaurants and diners - Times Online
Apr 28, 2009 ... Diners in France can expect a little less pain when the bill arrives, under a deal in which restaurant owners promise to cut menu prices in ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/lif...cle6181924.ece

Frances cuts VAT on restaurant meals | Business | guardian.co.uk
Mar 10, 2009 ... EU finance ministers agree to cut VAT on dining out to 5.5% to boost consumer confidence.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...-cut-on-dining

StCirq

Oy, just imagine the tipping posts this will spawn!

FrankS

Great News!! I dont mind if they leave the tax on my beloved Sancerre if they help on my 35E liquorice braised rabbit or my 50E French Veal Chops.

Cathinjoetown

I've been reading about this on other forums for the past month or so--overall expectation is that very little VAT savings will be passed on to consumers. Two very telling statements in the Times article are from Taillievent and the restaurant owner who "might" cut his plat du jour from 14 to 10 euros but intends to cut the portions! Still, one can hope and it's a good thing if some of the savings are passed on to staff and used for improvements.

kerouac

The VAT is going from 19.60% to 5.5%. The government is trying to strongarm the restaurants into lowering their prices, even though the restaurants are crying that this will just help them to maintain their staff and stay open.

So the government is creating a list of 10 items, including such things as "espresso" and "special of the day". If the restaurants lower the price of at least 7 of the 10 items by 10%, they will be allowed to display a sticker on the window saying "The VAT has gone down; so have our prices." Oh, isn't that great when there are 100 items on the menu and 7 of the least interesting ones have gone down 10% -- like coffee going from 2.50€ to 2.25€ -- what an absolute thrill for us all.

Besides that, this is effective July 1st, which gives restaurants a chance to raise some of their prices 10% before then so that they can lower them 10% on July 1st.

What a bunch of PR BS!

elsiejune

Thanks, kerouac. We can always rely on you to give us the backstory.
Merci, EJ

Cathinjoetown

Correction to my post, restaurant owner "might" lower prices on plat from 14 to 12 euros, while decreasing the portions. Totally agree with Kerouac.