Why did 700 anti-LGV signs appear overnight in Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne?

When the anti-LGV collectives of Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne stand together, the actions are quickly noticed. This is the case of 700 panels that were hung in the middle of the night from Friday May 3 to Saturday May 4, 2024 in both departments.

All you have to do is take a look under a town entrance sign to catch the message: “Here we will pay the LGV tax for 40 years”, with the stamp of the name of the collective as a signature. LGVnonmerci or LGVnina in Cadillac, Langon, Aillas or Stop LGV 47 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Casseneuil or even Marcellus.

From small towns to big cities, collectives have combed the ground to, once again, make themselves heard.

To alert the population of “financial malpractices”

“This concerted action by the LGV coordination collectives no thank you alerts populations of financial malfeasance of a project dedicated to drying out the municipalities,” explain the collectives in a press release sent to the press and relayed on social networks.

“This tax is planned for 40 years, but the duration and amount are likely to be increased in the event of additional costs,” they say. This is symptomatic of a disastrous situation where municipalities are going into debt to finance a project that is of no interest to them, while there is a lack of means on all sides to finance the service and the existing network.

Yes to daily trains, no to GPSO

The message is always the same: yes to the improvement of existing lines and daily trains, no to the GPSO project. To assert their position, some opponents have decided to carry out “tax disobedience.” » In other words, do not pay this tax to counter the financing of the project.

For information, this special tax on equipment (TSE) has already been recorded on our tax forms since 2023, located on the back, bottom left. It can vary from two to around fifteen euros and is proportional to the total amount of property taxes, but much higher than the first estimates of Sacha Briand, vice-president of Toulouse Métropole in charge of finances. At the end of 2021, the latter declared: “For the individual who pays a property tax of 1,000 euros, that will be 4 euros more. »

Who is affected by the tax?

There tax will not apply to all residents of the Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions, but to legal and natural persons established “in municipalities located less than 60 minutes by car from a station served by the future high-speed line”, as stipulated in article 103 of the Finance Law.

First set at 24 million eurosthe proceeds of this tax were increased to 29.5 million. Her amount will be updated each year. Included from 2023 in the property tax that owners already pay, this new tax represents a few euros per household. It was designed to last 40 years.

What to expect if you don’t pay the bill?

On the impots.gouv.fr website, it is specified that “the complaint does not exempt you from paying tax”. In other words, it is possible to dispute, not to issue the “rebate” yourself. “If your claim is accepted, the amount paid will be refunded to you […] If your claim is rejected, you will have to pay the disputed tax as well as a 10% surcharge due for late payment. »

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