The decision is final and cannot be appealed.
The Supreme Administrative Court (Conseil d'État) on February 5, 2025, held that the retroactive application of exit tax to individuals who transferred their residence out of France before May 11, 2011, was incompatible with EU law.
The exit tax was introduced through an amending finance law presented by the government on May 11, 2011, and formally adopted on July 29, 2011. However, the law applied retroactively to transfers of residence dating back to March 3, 2011—the date when the Budget Minister publicly mentioned the possibility of reintroducing an exit tax.
The court held that the Budget Minister’s remarks on March 3, 2011, were speculative and did not constitute an official announcement. In the court’s view, the first formal indication of the exit tax’s introduction was on May 11, 2011, when Parliamentary discussions on the amending finance bill began.
The decision is final and cannot be appealed.
Read a March 2025 report prepared by KPMG’s EU Tax Centre