The French Supreme Administrative Court (Conseil d'Etat) on 31 May 2024 rendered its decision in the 5Com case (CE, 31 May 2024, no. 482470) concerning the concurrent denial of a tax deduction for payments to non-residents and, in addition, the application of a withholding tax on the same payments. The decision, whilst somehow unsurprising, comes with a twist. Article 238A of the French Tax Code (CGI) prohibits the tax deduction in France of payments in remuneration of all types of services when made by French residents to persons established in jurisdictions benefiting from a low-tax regime, unless the payer substantiates...