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The Transport Tax - Strasbourg

Roland Ries, Mayor, City of StrasbourgPresented at Transforming Transportation 2016

TRANSFORMING TRANSPORTATION

15th of January 2016

ROLAND RIES Mayor of Strasbourg

The Transport Tax« Versement Transport »

(VT)

=> A tax dedicated to Urban mobility

created :

- in 1971 in the Paris Region

- extended to the whole country in 1973

=> levied on: enterprises and administrations of more than 9

employees (11 employees since January 1st 2016) located in

the urban transport perimeter (PTU)

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=> Based on the wage bill

=> Created locally by Urban Mobility Authorities

(AOMD) if they wish to do so

=> Rates: urban authorities decide on the rates within

the legal ceiling set by the central Government

=> The VT is the main resource to finance urban

transport in France (investments and operations)

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The logic beyond the VT:

- Transport networks must be financed by all those who

benefit from them and not only by users

- The VT is a counterpart enterprises pay for their workers to

benefit from good transport network

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VT proceeds evolution (in M€)

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The Versement Transport is the main source of

funding for Urban mobility

More 7,1 billion € collected in 2013 :

=> 3,745 billion € in the country outside the Paris region

=> 3,424 billion € in the Paris region

Contributes up to 40% to the financing of Urban Transport outside

Paris and 31% in the Paris region

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Transport Tax Rates

* Rates applicable on 1st July 2015 in the 4 largest

employment areas in France

Other cities, except Paris (Article L.2333-67 du Code

Général des Collectivités Territoriales)

Régime général + bonus intercommunalité*+ bonus commune

touristique**

Agglomération de plus de 100 000 habitantsTCSP 1,75% 1,80% 2,00%

sans TCSP 1,00% 1,05% 1,25%

Agglomération de 50 à 100 000 habitants

TCSP 0,85% 0,90% 1,10%

Sans TCSP 0,55% 0,60% 0,80%

Agglomération de 10 à 50 000 habitants - 0,55% 0,60% 0,80%

Agglomération de moins de 10 000 habitants

avec au moins une commune touristique- 0,55% - -

Régime général + bonus intercommunalité*+ bonus commune

touristique**

Agglomération de plus de 100 000 habitantsTCSP 1,75% 1,80% 2,00%

sans TCSP 1,00% 1,05% 1,25%

Agglomération de 50 à 100 000 habitants

TCSP 0,85% 0,90% 1,10%

Sans TCSP 0,55% 0,60% 0,80%

Agglomération de 10 à 50 000 habitants - 0,55% 0,60% 0,80%

Agglomération de moins de 10 000 habitants

avec au moins une commune touristique- 0,55% - -

Geografic Area Transport Taxe Rate

Ile de France Transport Union

(Paris & Hauts de Seine)2,85%

Seine Saint Denis, Val de Marne, Seine et

Marne, Yvelines, Essonne, Val d'Oise1,91%

Strasbourg Eurometropole 2,00%

Aix en Provence Metropole 1,70%

Rhône and the Lyon Metropole SMTC

(SYRTAL )1,00%

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Pros and cons of the VT

1) Pros:

- Enabled the renewal of urban Transport in France

- A tax decided, recovered and used locally

- Gives urban transport authorities some visibility on their

resources

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Pros and cons of the VT

1) Pros:

- A major resource for urban transport

- Allows to offer lower fares on transport networks

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Pros and cons of the VT

- 2) Cons:

- An additional burden on companies

- Companies of less than 9 employees do not pay it ( shops in

town center,..)

- Companies just outside the urban transport perimeter do not

pay but benefit from the transport network

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Pros and cons of the VT

- 2) Cons:

- VT proceeds follow economic activity fluctuations

- Most urban transport authorities have reached the legal

ceiling allowed and are looking for new resources

- The amount of VT collected by cities is very different

between cities according to the number of private companies

and administrations located in the urban transport perimeter

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The VT: an innovative tax ?

- Counterpart of transport services of high quality

- In line with climate and COP21 objectives

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Can the VT be implemented in other countries?

- Conditions of success:

- - The tax must be accepted socially

- - The society as a whole must be law abiding

- - The tax does not go well with informal economy

- The tax is local and developing countries tend to be fiscally

centralized

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