In La Caunette, André de Volontat runs the Café de la Place, a center of social life in the village. Like all the other restaurants in France, he suffered the closure of his workplace over the health measures decided by the authorities. Closed again since November, it was refused its first request for help, which automatically results in the refusal of those for December and January. Basically, it is a balance of corporate tax in arrears (yet in electronic payment) which blocks all the mechanics of the solidarity fund. But according to André de Volontat, “The very numerous phone calls given to the various tax services which are sending the file back to each other – it is a non-Covid problem which prevents a Covid measure – have still not made it possible to resolve the problem”. At the beginning of February, even if the unpaid tax was regularized, according to the restaurateur, and was the subject of a spread proposed by the tax administration, the small computer marker which prevents the payments of the first request of November is still active. “And the money still doesn’t fall into the bank account.” André and his accountant are increasing the requests on the tax administration platform, fearing that he will be told at some point that there is a limitation. At three years of retirement, at the head of an essential establishment in his territory, labeled Qualité Hérault, Sud de France, Hérault Tourisme and Café de Pays Vignobles et Découvertes, André de Volontat continues his hard fight to survive, without the help of state, at least for now. And his meetings in the waiting rooms of the tax administration make him think that he is far from the only one.
Free Midi Correspondent: 04 67 97 17 14.
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