What a pain that is! Is there a specific classification for things like gites? One thing I tend to find with french bureaucracy is that there’s rarely wriggle room, things are either A, B, or C, and if you need D, too bad, pick A, B or C 
Previously if a property was to be exempt from habitation tax you could get an attestation from your mairie to confirm this after an initial visit by a local councillor. If you feel so strongly about the wrongs of the fisc, I would go and ask at the mairie if this can still be done as you feel you should not be paying for something you do not live in nor rent out. Worth a shot??
We’re busy trying to find it!
It’s over 700 €. It’s worth feeling strongly about! We have, and letter has been written and paperwork provided and sent to the regional tax office to the mayor’s recommended contact.
I’ve mixed feelings about this.
Realising it was in the UK (and >15 years ago)… our 2 storey office building (a converted pole barn) was in the grounds of the house in respect of which we already paid over £1000 per month (rates for the house) and on top of that, we were required to pay another c£1000/month non domestic rates for the office building.
A gite is a business and as a business owner should perhaps expect to pay the commune for services.
I’d have been very happy with 700€ (GBP Equiv) for the year, as opposed to 1000GBP per month in respect of my business premises on my own domestic land.
The business was a partnership. not a limited company.
Fair point, but as it is part of our main property, we do. In fact if it was attached to our house it wouldn’t be classified as a “maison secondaire”. Also, we bring business into the commune because our guests spend money here.
bit thin that one… those businesses too will pay property taxes no doubt and there can be no guarantee that your guests will spend exclusively in the commune. I doubt that such an argument will carry much sway with the Fisc if you intended to rely on it 
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We don’t intend to.
And we do… We pay the cotisation foncières d’entreprise in place of taxe d’hab, which is a local tax so goes to the commune.
I thought that a gite had to pay EITHER tax d’habitation OR CFE, not both. Do you pay CFE?
If you mean taxe fonciere, that has now ceased.
I meant, CFE. The business tax that some gîte owners pay. Cotisations Fincière d’Entreprise.
Taxe foncière has ceased? Really? Since when?
We are not an “enterprise”
Taxe d’habitation has ceased surely? I pay my impôts fonciers all right 
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Yes, but there is an extra tax under the foncière heading called cotisation foncière d’entreprise. All businesses (ie with a Siret number) pay this
Neither are we Sue, but we have a Siret number so qualify as a business. And we don’t pay tax d’hab on the gîte.
How strange. We don’t. 
Thanks Jane. We don’t have a siret number. Obviously the situation has changed regarding “maisons secondaires” and even though our gite is registered with our local mairie and we obviously pay tax on our income from the gite we may have to look again at all of this. I have so few bookings a year (deliberately) I am going to find it hard to absorb an extra 700€ + per year if this continues.
the brutal truth surely… if it won’t pay, then close it down sooner rather than later.
Well tax de sejour was about 100 euros in the old house and closer to 800 here. 20 euros per hr for a cleaner.
Everthing going sky high not sure if a gite stll makes sense,
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Not that simple Graham and we have never had it as a business. We take in enough guests to make sure it pays its way and leaves us a bit spare to pay for things like unexpected car repair bills, etc.
Closing it down - no money at all - we will still have to pay taxe d’habitation on it because it is our “maison secondaire” according to the tax office.
then you have to swallow the cost or take a different action…
Harsh as that may seem, you have to consider all options.
I thought you were in receipt of pension income