Hegs

Same position. *Please* don't take this as gospel, but my belief from reading around is that in the first year, you have officially transferred to become a FR tax resident and only the income received since the date you transfered needs to be declared. We will prepare both full year/since arrival forms and go to see the taxman at his seance...

I have done the same thing, I opted to do a formal transfer to the Paris office. Advantages: - Social security contributions (cotisations) are all handled for you (and they are large and difficult to understand) - French employment contracts are normally harder for the company to get out of - I don't know what your circumstances would be if you lost your UK job while resident in France. Getting benefits might be a problem from either side. - Getting a CdS was a doddle with a French contract, and it lasts 10 years. Might be harder with a UK contract - It seems to go down better with the French that you are paying into their system! Some advice: - Get continuity of employment benefits written into your contract - Get a letter stating what your salary in Euros will be at a time when the exchange rate is good! - Make sure your contract clearly states it is a "Contrat de duree indetermine" - CDI. Otherwise the dear people at the prefecture might quibble.

This has been done to death the other way around... but what is the tax situation if you are a French resident and inherit or are gifted UK assets from a UK resident? Am I right in my understanding that only UK inheritance tax is payable unless you have been resident in France for six of the last 10 years? Any help appreciated! Cheers, Ian

brave rather than knowledgable One of the big Quillan estate agents has apparently opened a new branch on the Ariege/Aude border at Chalabre (I live in a satellite village) and my local electrician told me that there is lots of mostly foreign activity in the property market there right now. My intuition is prices of the strip immediately either side of the Aude river itself (Carcassonne/Limoux/Quillan) are flat - minus local economy issues as Chris has pointed out - and foreign attention is going to the villages further from the valley itself. - Ian

Does anyone have good/bad experience with this company? Please let me know either way... Cheers, Ian

Just a warning if you have a wireless network, the TV transmitters don't work very well together and interfere.... at least in my case they don't!

Lyn, Check your message box. Cheers, Ian

You might be lucky - are you aware of the sailing club at lac de Montbel, about 25 kms west of Limoux?

It's usually short for rendez-vous (appointment)