The European Union is adopting a raft of new initiatives to reduce tax compliance costs and make rules easier for large, cross-border businesses.
The European Union (EU) is hoping to make life easier for businesses who have operations in two or more bloc countries by introducing a standardised set of rules that will help tax authorities determine the tax base of these types of companies.
Called Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT), the new rules aim to reduce compliance costs for large companies who have set-ups in more than one Member State by up to 65%, if all goes according to plan.
HOW IT WORKS
As coordination between 27 different tax systems has been tricky in the past, many companies have been reluctant to invest beyond their original borders, limiting growth and putting the EU at a marked disadvantage.
Businesses who fall under the BEFIT regulations will now be able to calculate a standard tax base in accordance with a common set of rules, aggregated into one single tax base. Each BEFIT company will take the average of the three previous years’ taxes to calculate the percentage of the aggregated tax base they will be in going forward.
According to the EU, “The new rules will be mandatory for groups operating in the EU with an annual combined revenue of at least €750 million, and where the ultimate parent entity holds at least 75% of the ownership rights or of the rights giving entitlement to profit.”
Smaller organisations can opt in if they are willing to provide consolidated financial statements.
TRANSFER PRICING
The new package also includes a proposal aiming at harmonising transfer pricing rules within the EU and ensuring a common approach to the practice. Transfer pricing is an accounting practice that represents the price that one division in a company charges another division for goods and services provided in different states or countries.
The proposal will increase tax certainty and mitigate the risk of litigation and double taxation. The directive will also restrict opportunities to use transfer pricing for aggressive tax planning purposes.
Once the plan is fully adopted, it will go into effect from 1st January 2026. BEFIT’s start date is planned for 1st July 2028.
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Who are the Monegasques? How many are there? Where do they live? Monaco Life delves into the data available on one of the world’s rarest nationalities.
Living within one of the smallest states on the globe is a population so few in number that many on the outside don’t even know it exists.
Monegasque citizenship
Monegasque is the official name for the citizens of Monaco. Citizenship in the Principality is based primarily on the jus sanguinis principle – a blood right – meaning that the majority of those who can legally call themselves Monegasque have gained that citizenship through descent. Others gain citizenship through marriage or naturalisation. Interestingly, dual nationality is not recognised in Monaco, and there are very few exceptions to this rule.
Most Monegasques hold their nationality thanks to the principle of jus sanguinis. Photo credit: Palais Princier de Monaco
How many Monegasques are there?
So, who are the Monegasques? It’s difficult to put an accurate figure on the number of Monegasque “grandes familles”, but estimates stand at around 500. The most visible of these, of course, is the Monegasque Princely family: the Grimaldis. Other more well-known Monegasque families will today include the Pastors and their construction empire, and the Leclercs courtesy of big shot F1 driver Charles Leclerc.
The most recent census of Monaco’s population was back in 2016 and, at the time, Monegasques ranked as the second largest nationality living within its borders with 8,378 residents counted. First came France at 9,286.
The Mairie de Monaco revised the global figure of Monegasques in 2022 to 9,686. Monegasque men count for 45.7% of this population, while women are at 54.3%. The median age for men is 41.4 years of age and 51.2 for women to give an overall median of 46.9.
The Mairie de Monaco is responsible for all things pertaining to Monegasque nationality and citizenship. Photo credit: Mairie de Monaco
Where do they live?
The vast majority of Monegasques live in the Principality, but a handful – 4% – live in France and smaller percentages still live in Switzerland, Italy and the US. 0.5% are recorded as living elsewhere.
Births and deaths
Nearly two thirds of Monegasques are born in Monaco, these days at the Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace, but neighbour France is second in the list. Just over 2,500 of Monegasques were born over the border, then comes Italy with 221 recorded births. The US and the UK take third and fourth spot for births of Monegasques outside of Monaco, followed by the perhaps surprising tie of Switzerland and Morocco in fifth.
92 new Monegasques came into the world in 2022 – 39 of them boys and 53 of them girls – and 85 departed. The average life expectancy for a Monegasque currently stands at 86.5 years of age.
New parents and their babies were welcomed at the Mairie de Monaco earlier this year to celebrate the next generation of young Monegasques. Photo credit: Mairie de Monaco
Marriage and Monegasques
There are more “single” – that confusing French language status of “célibataire”, which is perhaps best described as “unmarried” – Monegasques than married; around 4,000 of them split fairly evenly between men and women. A third of the population is married, just over 1,000 are divorced, 604 are widowed and 24 count as “separated”.
In 2022, 96 marriages involving at least one Monegasque citizen were recorded by the Mairie de Monaco, which handles all matters concerning nationality. The majority of these nuptials – 51 in total – featured a Monegasque and a French citizen, while the number of marriages between a Monegasque and a person of different nationality other than French stood at 37. Eight of the marriages were between two Monegasque citizens. Nine in 10 of these marriages took place within the Principality, while a small few occurred in France or elsewhere.
A total of 18 divorces involving at least one Monegasque party were recorded last year.
Monegasque traditions
There are several key dates in the calendar for Monegasques. The biggest is Monaco’s National Day, which takes place on 19th November each year. Another highlight is the Principality’s patron saint celebrations, the Fête de Sainte Dévote, on 27th January, which includes a religious mass that is exclusively reserved for Monegasques. Others are more informal and on a family scale, such as the recent U Cavagnëtu picnic that is uniquely for Monegasque citizens.
Monaco’s holy relics of Sainte Dévote are transported to the cathedral for a special mass each year. Photo credit: Palais Princier de Monaco
IMSEE: Monaco’s dictionary of data
Each year, Monaco’s statistical agency IMSEE produces a comprehensive analysis of data related to life in the Principality, featuring everything from its population to its economy, healthcare, public services and environment. Called “Monaco en Chiffres”, it is fully downloadable in French here, while a breakdown of the key information is available in English here.
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The number of electric scooter related deaths and serious accidents is swelling in France, leading the government to pass a new law that has raised the minimum legal age for riding one of these vehicles to 14.
10 riders of motorised personal transport, a group of vehicles including electric scooters, died in the month of July alone in France, taking the death toll so far this year to 41. July also saw 53 riders seriously injured.
Beneath these grim figures lies another very serious problem: the steady rise of the use and popularity of electric scooters, monowheels, gyropods and hoverboards amongst young people; vehicles that all relatively unregulated.
MINIMUM LEGAL AGE INCREASES
Now the French Ministry of Transport has stepped in “to protect, deter and avoid dangerous behaviour” by changing the minimum age to ride one of these vehicles from 12 to 14 years of age. The law also coincides with the legal age in France to drive a moped or voiturette.
First presented in March of this year, the new law has since passed and was published in France’s Official Journal on 1st September.
FINES TO RISE TOO
The new decree also allows for more stringent fines for those who transport passengers on e-scooters and the like – vehicles designated for personal use only – to discourage the practice. The government is also toughening its stance on those who drive on prohibited roadways, such as urban motorways.
The fines have increased significantly from a not-so-bad €35 to €135, which is hopefully enough to make people think twice. This now rivals the €135 fine for driving on pavements, which is already in effect, except in the cases where mayors specifically authorise it.
In towns and cities, scooters must remain on cycle paths and lanes. If there is no such lane, they can be on roads with maximum speed limits of 50km/h or less. Outside urban areas, they must use greenways and cycle paths.
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From sailing to classical music and photographic exhibitions, here’s a rundown of all the commemorative events taking place this September in honour of Monaco’s Prince Rainier III.
The year-long programme of events chronicling and celebrating the life of Prince Rainier III on the 100th year of his birth continues this month with a roster of one-off events and rolling exhibitions.
Monaco Classic Week
First up, and just ahead of the Monaco Yacht Show, is the Exposition de Bateaux Ayant Appartenu au Prince Rainier III – or Prince Rainier III’s Boat Exhibition – which is being held from 13th to 16th September within the scope of Monaco Classic Week. The waters off the Yacht Club de Monaco are the setting for this assembly of boats that once belonged to the late Prince, who, like so many of Monaco’s sovereigns, was a great lover of the sea.
Music and concerts
On 17th September, head to the Salle Garnier for a chamber music concert featuring Monaco’s own Shani Diluka, who will perform pieces by Nadia Boulanger and Mozart alongside violinists Liza Kerob and Ilyoung Chae, Federico Hood on viola and Thierry Amadi on violoncello. Also on the bill is a tribute to Mikael Glinka, as performed by Nikolai Kuznetsov on piano, Sibylle Duchesne and Mitchell Huang on violins, François Duchesne playing viola and cellist Delphine Perrone. The final pieces will be a selection of upbeat pieces from several artists, including Listov, Nichifor and Gordon, as played by Christine Rossi on accordion, violinists Diana Mykhalevych and Alexandre Guerchovitch, Sofia Timofeeva on viola, cellist Thierry Amadi, Véronique Audard on clarinet and Tarik Bahous on double bass. The show starts a 3pm and tickets can be purchased here.
Then on 24th September at 6pm, the Grimaldi Forum will host the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra for the launch of their season: a concert commemorating Prince Rainier III. Under the conductorship of Kazuki Yamada, soprano Eleanor Lyons and mezzo-soprano GerhildRomberger will be joined by the CBSO Chorus under Simon Halsey to perform works by Gustav Mahler and Andrzej Panufnik.
Ongoing events
In addition to these special shows and events, there are several ongoing items to catch, including The Prince and his Animals at the Jardin d’Animalier, Prince Rainier III: A Sailor Above All at the Yacht Club de Monaco, Prince Rainier III: A Rose Garden in Tribute of his Wife at the Princess Grace Rose Garden, The Builder Prince: Ambitions for Monaco on the Quai Antoine I, and The Constitutional Prince at the Conseil National, which will also name a room after Prince Rainier III to mark his centenary.
For the full programme of events taking place in 2023, please click here.
Click on the images below to see photos of the past and ongoing events celebrating Prince Rainier III:
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After their 33-medal haul at the Games of the Small States of Europe in Malta last month, Monaco’s athletes have been honoured by Prince Albert II and Minister of State Pierre Dartout.
Monaco’s 33 medals, which included 13 golds, saw the Principality finish fourth in the 19th edition of the athletics event. T toast their triumphs, the protagonists of that success, including Giulia Viacava, who won seven of the 33 medals, were all invited to a special welcome at the Minister of State’s residence last week.
Pierre Dartout congratulated the Monegasque delegation “for their brilliant results and for having flown the Monegasque colours high” at the games. Yvette Lambin Berti, the Secretary General of the Monegasque Olympic Committee, added, “All of this wasn’t by chance. Behind the success, there is a lot of hard work, perseverance, rigour and patience.”
Monaco to host 2027 edition of Games of the Small States of Europe
Addressing Prince Albert II of Monaco, who was present at the event, Berti continued, “These encouraging performances are the result of your policies that value and support sport, and also the result of the means that you provide your government to put them in place. We are grateful to you.”
Andorra will host the next Games in 2025 before the event comes to the Principality in 2027. It will be the third time that Monaco will have hosted the Games of the Small States of Europe, after having previously done so in 1987 and 2007.
With a home event in sight, Berti told those gathered, “You must now persevere and keep going. Many of you are already preparing for these games. We will be at your side, and we will support you.”
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After being forced into early retirement over the so-called “Rock Files”, Claude Palmero’s attempt to have his dismissal reversed and compensation paid by the Palace has been rejected by Monaco’s highest court.
On 14th July, Prince Albert’s former ally in charge of managing the Palace’s assets, Claude Palmero, filed a request before the Supreme Court of Monaco seeking an annulment of the order of his dismissal, as well as compensation.
On Monday, the Parisian communications agency of the Prince’s Palace reportedly released an extract from the order of the Supreme Court to the press.
“Mr. Claude Palmero contests before the Supreme Court of Monaco the dismissal of his functions as Administrator of the property of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and asks the Prince to pay compensation of one million euros,” reads the extract, as reported by Monaco Matin. “He also requested a stay of execution of the decisions of June 6 and 9, 2023 relating to his dismissal.
“By a decision of September 5, 2023, the Court, ruling in summary proceedings, rejected the request for suspension of execution presented by Mr. Palmero on the grounds that these decisions which relate to the organisation and functioning of the Sovereign House and are not detachable from the person of the Sovereign Prince, escape the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court”.
Claude Palmero’s lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, has not responded to local media requests for comment.
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