Mediapart has reported that French associations continue to offer tax exemptions for donations intended to support Israeli soldiers involved in military operations, which, according to a United Nations resolution, have led to “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip, despite the French Ministry of Economy and Finance clarifying last November that such practice is illegal.
Mediapart’s report, penned by Justine Brabant, indicated that there were hundreds of calls for donations towards the year-end and the tax declaration period. These were not directed towards supporting international organizations for the disabled or the Red Cross but rather towards Israeli soldiers engaged in “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, which is on the brink of becoming a “genocide.”
The site explained that donations to associations allow individuals in France to receive tax reductions of up to 66%, meaning an individual could effectively pay only 34% of a €100 donation after the tax deduction, costing the state several billion euros annually (€3.7 billion in 2018, according to the Court of Audit).
Although this system was originally a grant from the state – driven by the desire to keep the French associative fabric alive – it sometimes deviates from its purpose, according to the site. Associations have been offering tax exemptions for donations to “support” Israeli soldiers since Operation Protective Edge in October 2023.
Mediapart stated, “Libi France” has received €457,000 in donations since October 2023 from the platform “AlloDonations” alone. Consequently, if all donors on “AlloDonations” received the deductions promised by the association, the French state has involuntarily spent €300,000 in support of Israeli soldiers.
Direct Support to Soldiers
One of these associations, “Libi France,” led a particularly intense campaign in December, calling for donations to support “our dear and brave soldiers,” promising donors a “tax reduction for the year 2023” via its Facebook page, and assuring its sponsors in messages that “100% of their donations will be sent directly to the Israeli soldiers.”
Mediapart obtained a certificate from “Libi France,” dated January 16, 2023, in which the association “certifies on its honor that the donations and payments it receives entitle us to the tax reduction stipulated in Article 200 of the French General Tax Code,” which is evidently false.
It is unlikely that “Libi France” is unaware of the illegality of its campaign – as the site suggests – because statements from the Ministry of Economy and Finance were widely published in the French press, and Senator Natalie Goulet directly queried the association about its “false advertisements” regarding tax deductions in two emails sent from her professional address at the Senate.
Although the association did not respond to the site’s inquiries, Mediapart found that “Libi France” had garnered €457,000 in donations since October 2023 from the “AlloDonations” platform alone, which means the French state has spent – albeit unwillingly – €300,000 in support of Israeli soldiers.
The site views this as a deviation that raises doubts given the context in the Middle East, where approximately 25,000 Palestinians have been killed, and schools, refugee camps, and hospitals have been destroyed by Israeli soldiers, labeled by UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese as “ethnic cleansing” on the verge of becoming “genocide.”
Tax Secrecy
The Ministry of Economy and Finance refuses to provide details on measures taken to punish associations offering these unlawful deductions, citing “tax secrecy” as a reason for not commenting on the specifics of particular associations like “Libi France.”
The Ministry also declines to specify the number of tax audits conducted annually on associations to verify their compliance with tax reduction eligibility rules.
The problem, the site points out, is the lack of prior control in France over these deductions, which means associations do not need prior approval for their donors, despite “limited tax administration controls towards the beneficiary associations or donors, and penalties for non-compliance are not particularly deterrent,” according to the Court of Audit.
Senator Natalie Goulet, who attempted to change the law on this matter, concluded that the solution could be “to lower” the minimum threshold that requires an association to revert to an accountant auditor or through prior controls that would oblige these associations to secure approval.
