The leader of the French luxury conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) has been ordered by the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal to pay 22.5 million euros to the French tax authorities for tax evasion. According to the France-Presse agency, which consulted the lawsuit, the richest man in France, Bernard Arnault, stated that he will appeal to the Council of State, the body that arbitrates disputes between citizens and the government.
This decision, which annuls the ruling of the lower court and even the previous one issued by this court which were more favorable to Arnault, will be brought before the Council of State for review, a spokesperson for the businessman declared to AFP.
The amount that Bernard Arnault is required to pay involves 12.96 million euros in income tax and additional social security contributions relating to 2010, and 9.5 million euros in wealth tax between 2012 and 2015, which are being demanded from Arnault and his wife according to the decision of the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal dated July 2.
In December 2020, the Paris Administrative Court granted the couple’s request for exemption from the additional income tax assessments and a refund of the wealth tax between 2012 and 2015. The French Minister of Economy and Finance requested the Administrative Court of Appeal in November 2023 to annul that decision.
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The core of the case concerned the complex shareholder structure of LVMH, according to the online news portal L’Informé, cited by AFP.
The Arnault family does not hold shares directly in the luxury group, but rather through a chain of holding companies, L’Informé added. At the top of this pyramid is a Belgian company, Pilinvest, which allows the richest man in France to reduce his tax burden, according to the newspaper L’Informé.
According to the ranking by Forbes magazine, Bernard Arnault, 77, with a net worth of 147.9 billion dollars approximately 129.25 billion euros, is among the ten richest people in the world.
