Refurbished smartphones will soon be taxed more.

This new fee should provide an additional source of income for the culture sector, which has been hit hard by the health crisis.

Reconditioning professionals do not hide their anger at this "deeply inconsistent" measure.

The sector of reconditioned electronic objects is not declining.

The government should soon implement a new tax on refurbished smartphones, which would offer a new source of revenue to the culture sector, hit hard by the coronavirus health crisis for nearly a year.

This decision is "incomprehensible" for professionals in the sector, who recall their commitment to the environment and made in France, which is more in these times of crisis.

The tax represents 4% of the sale price

The executive's idea is to apply to refurbished electronic devices the private copying tax levied by Copie France on objects that can store works protected by copyright, such as smartphones, tablets and USB flash drives.

It would amount to 4% of the selling price of a refurbished device. 

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According to professionals in the sector, more than 600 small and medium-sized enterprises would be threatened economically.

Some could even go out of business since this royalty would be retroactive over several years.

The biggest platform in the sector, Backmarket, refuses to comply.

His boss, Thibaud Hug de Larauze, believes that we are shooting ourselves in the foot.

"What shocks me the most is that the government is repeating that the most important thing is to revive the French economy by supporting the ecological transition while there, we are talking about taxing the circular economy. There is a deep inconsistency. . "

Government showdown

According to him, this new fee would also put the French market in danger.

"This will close shops and therefore put several hundred employees of these sectors out of work in France. We will therefore give a significant advantage to foreign sectors and lose ground in France. For me, it is catastrophic for all of these. levels. "

The showdown is currently being played out in the government between the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot on one side, and the Minister of Ecology Barbara Pompili as well as Cedric O, Secretary of State in charge of Digital, on the other .

But several reconditioners fear that the game has already been played.

They have received letters of summons in recent days to settle the bill.