French VAT cut for restaurants and cafes

The French government has cut the VAT payable in restaurants and cafes from 19.6% to 5.5% which is a pretty big jump down. Hopefully this may mean that our buck will go a bit further in the expensive cafes and restaurants in ski resorts.  The good news is that the all expensive meal in the mountain restaurant will cost a good few euros less, however the bad news is that this cut won’t include alcoholic beverages, so anyone hoping to see a reduction in the rediculously expensive price of beer is sorely mistaken!   No doubt some restaurants will be using the opportunity of the cut to make more profit, by not actually reducing the cost of the meals. Obviously this will go entirely against the point of the cut which is to encourage tourists back into France, so we hope that this won’t be an activity under taken by most restaurants and cafes.

After my last extortionately expensive ski holiday in what was supposedly a small, cheap, French resort, I for one will take the tax cut in open arms and go back to France next winter hoping to have a bit more cash in my pocket when I leave!