Keelstow

I've never filled in a french tax declaration as our status is just summer residence with nothing to initiate a tax return so probably not getting the online number, which apparently changes every year, that others may may use. this site documents the error message and the invitation to contact your tax office https://www.impots.gouv.fr/portail/particulier/questions/comment-creer-votre-espace-particulier-pour-declarer-en-ligne that as far as I'm getting as they fail to respond so I will just keep a record of my messages and perhaps contact regional office to see if they can help edit I notice from the link that one of the options is to go to the local tax office to verify one;s identity! That will have to wait till easter

I was wrongly billed for television tax recently, despite having filled in a declaration for the last 15yrs, and tried to resolve it through the suggested "Espace Particulier" The trouble is when I try to set up a login using our numero fiscal an error message is generated telling us that "Pour créer votre espace particulier, vous devez préalablement fournir à votre centre des Finances publiques . des éléments permettant de prouver votre identité." with time running out I've tried directly emailing the local tax office, having already written them a letter explaining the TV tax the situation, two weeks back, but still await a reply. even though they have cashed the cheque enclosed for the Habitation element of the bill , Now I fear I strict penalties if the total(still showing in full on the web site) is not paid by the 16th dec.! anybody else had problems accessing an Espace Particulier? martin

not so lucky in my area as they have now added in the tax audiovisuelle of 139 euro, despite me sending the annual letter declaring that we do not have a television will try to resolve this but not looking too good. I have paid the habition amount and sent a letter explaining a declaration, as usual had been posted.

One of my relations lives overseas, but not in F rance and says his existing bank account with Barclays has been frozen until he proves UK residence. Seems like he never made it clear he would be living overseas, without a UK residence, and in the climate of money laundering they were be obliged to act so. He has a decent enough pension he wants leaving in pounds sterling Moving forwards what are his options? I believe he has about £70k to put into a new account and does spend some time in the UK each year, but barely more that 3 weeks. He could use my address as his UK residence but I need to make sure this is legally acceptable. He seems to think he needs to buy a UK property, but does spending time actually resident do more to satisfy account holding status rather simply property ownership. I know this is not directly related to France but this post will be read by people who have had similar dilemma so any info greatly appreciated martin

my concern in making the units 85 cm high is that they are the same level as the cooker. Whilst one could make a plinth for the cooker ,if that is too low, it would be tricky to alter the units if those were too low. fortunately these helpful replies confirm the french standard of 85cm with replaceable jets supplied for bottled gas situations thanks

would be grateful if anyone could confirm that 85cm is the height of the gas rings and that most on sale are by default for bottled gas. I intend building some wooden units either side of the cooker and need to make sure the worktop height is level with the rings. The UK size is 90cm so need to be sure as I intend bringing some of the joinery from the UK. any suggestions of best stockists also appreciated whilst assuming Darty to be the best as it offers free delivery? martin

I think its safe to assume they would have got permission from the Mairie for any external work. what bothers me is the lack of consultation from there onwards which indicates one has little say in what goes on here in France compared to the UK. to be fair we have a good neighbour, no problem, but they could easily move on leaving a lousy one too overlooking our place

what notice should I have received, if any, before our neighbour was allowed to add three windows to a wall overlooking our house. Previously the wall was without any windows just one door. Am I right to think one needs some sort of approval before these changes are made and that the property adjoining should be consulted? martin

looks like I can already answer my own question.. these people are relatively close and next door to the bricodepot we use. claim to be a leading french supplier making their own canoes. http://www.powercomposite.fr/boutique/resine-polyester/99-resine-polyester-bidon-de-5kg.html still way above UK prices but handy for job finishing needs http://www.fibreglassdirect.co.uk/5kg-flex-roofing-resin-and-catalyst-100g-p-661.html

I'm looking to do some roof repairs on my french property and wondered if anybody knew how easy it is to come by these materials in France. whilst I could easily transport the materials from the UK there are some safety issues to consider and it would be good to locate a local source or delivery option. Unfortunately any searches using "fibre de verre" seem to come up with wallpapers and the like. some other results using "RESINE POLYESTER" seem to show prices almost double those in the UK In the UK many roofing supplies carry the product as an alternative to lead, which is being stolen, but not sure if french are moving in the same dirrection martin

despite the apparent U-turn for this poorly conceived proposal the whole affair the leaves a bad taste. Whatever next? Do we have to put up with this uncertain economic future. I do not share your sense of relief For the relatively small tax revenue it would have raised he has risked loosing the trust of over a third of a million overseas homeowners to line the pockets of his rich influential friends. he uses the race card at every opportunity and I am now doubting me continued participation in such a french society. I will invest lower levels in my property and when a good opportunity arises to pack my bags I may be tempted

looks like the new tax change has gone through parliment. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002503/Britons-French-holiday-homes-face-shock-new-tax-increase.html intrestingly it says " The tax only applies to foreigners with second homes that are unoccupied all year" so if you visit on holiday you don't pay the extra tax?

thanks for the replies to to original posting. I guessed this site would be well versed in this subject area but was suprised by the amount of quick replies I will pass on your advice to my brother so he is well prepared for his future travels martin

not as strange as it seems when he lives in a big city where taxi fares are dirt cheap and keeping a car would be a hassle.. as it would be for many Londoners. he got caught out at heathrow when his licence was in date but the photo was out of date. He managed to get a car eventually after a phone call to DVLC. Looks like an international licence is th best bet

my brother lives outside UK and needs to renew licence to enable him to hire cars back in the UK. can an ex-pat renew licence without a Uk address thanks martin

tesco card is good but limited to 90 days

I need a card for calls back to the UK for the easter and summer holidays I will be taking this year. any suggestions of ones that will last the whole duration, in terms of validity for up to six months. I 've seen them for sale in the supermarkets but not sure about terms. Seemed cheap enough and better than mobiles for long calls thanks for any pointers martin

if you are doing a reinstall of operating system I would switch off automatic updates and just rely on a good,and free!, virus detection program such as avast . the constant barrage of operating system updates are what slow down an older machine and seem to be designed to force the user to invest in a new computer

Anybody know what the following signs mean. They were seen as we drove towards Calais the other day. The first was a large blue squre with a white car inside it. Sometimes a red line was diagonally drawn across the other shows a red lorry overtaking a car with a speed limit sign below usually 70. Not really something for the car driver to worry about, but confusing to my wife who was driving in france for the first time. Any insghts into their meaning would be useful. I pressume the second one was warning lorries not to overtake below the given number thanks martin

price in UK about 97p litre so cheaper in france (90/1.12=80p) reason I asked is http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/   showing much higher prices in france, january survey thanks for the quick reply

do I still save money by arriving in france with an empty tank and using a supermarket to fill up. I get the impression from AA web site that french price has now outstripped UK filling stations. I find this situation strange as it was cheaper in fance last september when our currency was a lot stronger. One would have expected the french prices to remain a lot more competitive due to the stong euro? even a bottle of Cointreau can be found cheaper in the UK thanks for any info martin

We brought our property in the Jura 5 years ago and visit when we can. The house has a veg plot at the side and we have been allowing the neighbors to use it. They probably used it some years before 2003 as the owner was getting on. I am a bit worried there might be “squatter’s rights” they can invoke if we do not formally serve notice on this arrangement, as they have expressed an interest in buying the plot from us when I visited at Easter. We are not interested in selling as it would allow them to do as they please, with the possibility of a new property blocking our view; ( we intend to eventually use it ourselves at some stage anyhow.) The question is should we allow this arrangement to continue or are we playing into their hands in the eyes of the French laws? There are already on the deeds evidence of a small parcel of our land being surrendered to them in the past for a useless plot in the middle of nowhere! The neighbors are farmers about to retire and intend selling up. This would mean selling theirr own house to facilitate the sale but with land and permission in short supply they may be eyeing the space between the properties as a potential building plot for the house they would then need any thought or insights more than welcome martin  

"Le montant exigé ne peut dépasser le montant du revenu minimum d'insertion (au 1er janvier 2008, 447,91 EUR  / mois pour une personne seule sans enfant) ou si la personne a plus de 65 ans, sauf exceptions, le montant de l'allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées (au 1er janvier 2008, 628,10 EUR /mois maximum pour une personne seule).  " babelfish  translation "The amount required cannot exceed the amount of the minimum income of insertion (at January 1, 2008, 447,91 Euro/month for a person alone without child) or if the person has more than 65 years, except exceptions, the amount of the allowance of solidarity to the old people (at January 1, 2008, 628,10 Euro /mois maximum for a person alone)." looks like amouts are the maximum the authorities  can insist you have at your disposal seems fairly cool and fair with lower amounts negotiable

looks like any means testing only applies to the first 5 yr anyway "Any EU citizen who has been resident in France for five or more continuous years has the right to permanent residence and a residence permit and does not need to provide proof of income or employment. " http://normandy.angloinfo.com/countries/france/residency.asp

Seems a bit odd that an outsider needs to prove they have funds available to them way above the disposable income of a significant number of the locals.? who fixes these levels?