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Where France’s wealthy go to escape taxes
They head to an area in Brussels called Uccle
The grassy, well-coiffed neighborhood is home to diplomats and a large proportion of French expatriates who’ve moved in to escape taxes.
The trend began in 2000 with French nationals wanting to avoid tax on wealth over about $1.5 million and accelerated in 2012 when the new president François Hollande pledged to create a 75 percent tax bracket for wealth over $1.2 million, according to Mansion Global. The result was a mini-exodus of high-worth individuals to Uccle, where a train to Paris takes under 90 minutes.
Villas in the area sell for up to $4.7 million while apartments go for between $1.2 million and $3.5 million.
Following the Great Recession, prices slipped, however, according to Abraham de Bettencourt, director of Lecobel Vaneau real estate agency, the market has stabilized and more apartments are being added to the existing supply. [Mansion Global] — Erin Hudson