Crevette

I worked on a detachment aggreement in France and found out my post was deleted a couple of weeks back. This means that for the last four years I have been paid from the UK, paid NI in the UK, but income tax in France. I am hoping to get a new job ASAP, but does anyone know if I will be entitled to French unemployment benefit, and how much this is likely to be? Regards, -Rob-

A work-mate told me that having a company car is great in france as ; You pay about 100 euro's a month extra in tax... but. i) Insurance free ii) Maintenance free iii) Parking (company) free but best of all ; iv) Petrol free up to 8000 KM for private use + unlimited for company use v) (Car free of course!) I was going for a job and said "no I don't need a company car" (I don't use it often) but I kind of regret ths now! -Rob-

Charts (page 2) are the easiest to understand. Basically they show "old" (not new) house inflation on a "rolling year". The breakdowns are then by apartments and houses. -Rob-

http://www.fnaim.fr/infos/prix-immobilier/IMPA_2007-09.pdf And I thought the tax incentives for french tax payers was supposed to inflate the market? -Rob-

Hi Ian, Many thanks! That sounds great - I will give it a go! I am more of a Thai curry addict and have  a box of lemograss,chillies, galanga root, thai basil, lime leaves, and ginger in the freezer which I use a lot! In Paris you have the "tong freres" near Place d'Italie which sells you everything you could ever need (complete with nice Singha beers!) I found another very interesting curry dish from Brazil with peanuts and lime which I really like - here's the link ; http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2006/12/brazilian-xinxim-de-gallina.html "Bon app!" -Rob-

Normally you go bankrupt when your assets are not enough to cover your debt. If you have foriegn assets then they will show up as part of the bankrupcy disclosure and you may be forced to sell it. Have a look at the following articles for more info : http://www.bankruptcyhelp.org.uk/what_happens_to_my_assets.asp http://myvesta.org.uk/faq/questions/336/Can+going+bankrupt+affect+the+interest+I+have+in+a+property+outside+the+UK%3F  

This article sums up why ; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6994528.stm The exchange rates are very much linked to the interest rates and the strengths of the economy. Expectations are that the ECB will raise the rates whilst the havoc in the UK at the moment with the financial markets means little chance of a raise in the UK. Also, with the UK's reliance on the financial services industry, a meltdown and recession could be on the cards back in old blighty... -Rob -

Related ot my last post,  I saw an add today which proposed 10% cheaper electricity, using 20% renewable energy, and and an extra 3% if I can cut my electricity by 10%! (now there's a motivation!) Here's the link ; http://www.direct-energie.com/fr/particuliers I am very tempted to give this a go - anyone made the move so far? Regards, -Rob-

Just spoke to a colleague who did this last year - he told me that even the insurance companies will grudgingly admit that its the sensible thing to do! He told me there is an offical guide "argus?" to car prices which insurance companies use and which also depends the  number of kilometres you do. -Rob-

Just out of interest - I really get the impression that a far larger majority of people on France have third party F+T cover only compared to the UK. You certainly see a difference in the number of cars with debts/bumps compared to the UK. Regards, -Rob-

I have looked and looked for cheaper insurance but no luck so far. I guess I pay a "Paris" premium!

I have a car which I almost exclusively use for the occasional long trip. Most of the time it's parked in a secure garage (a bit away from where I live). At the moment I pay €670 for full cover. The car itself is probably worth about €3000 (Parkers price guide). I rang up to see what it would be for third party, fire and theft and it comes out as €370. The franchise is also €350, so even if I did damage it myself I would still need to pay this... I am thinking of looking into a "car sharing" scheme to locally hire cars when I need them for a short trip, and so will probably use my car even less. So the question is, given the very limited use, is it worth paying for the full cover which amounts to about 10% of the total value of the car each year? All thoughts and comments appreciated, -Rob- PS: I can foresee replies such as "why have the car at all?" but I am not prepared to sell the car "just yet" - it will depend on how it goes with the care-share, and if I move to a "less accessible" area in the future... maybe up for review in a year! PPS: If I understand correcltly, the only situations where the full cover would be useful is ; i) I do more than 350 euros of damage to my car in an accident which was my fault ii) Someone else does more than 350 euros of damage to my car and is either not insured or I am not around and they don't leave a note...

I like the "electrisave" product. I take it it works with the French meters? -Rob-

Thanks for the replies - I think I may invest in one of those "plug meters" to see what is gobbling up the electricity. Regards, -Rob-

Anyone out there in an apartment? How much do people pay monthly for electricity? Heating is by electric but all the same, my bill has grown from 70 euros to 110 euros and I find this to be quite a lot! I was wondering if other people find this excessive or not! -Rob-

I bought over and registered my old UK car in France and am now looking to sell it (and hire a car whenever I need one).  I am sure that French registered cars do not go for the "market rate" and so what is the best way to do this? I have someone in the UK who is willing to help with registration, etc. All help appreciated! -Rob-

I pay my tax by monthly installments and it's very nice to find out that in October I will pay only 20% of my usual amount, then pay absolutely nothing in both November and December! I think the idea is that your estimated tax is spread over 10 months which means that if you underestimate then the "extra" is paid in November and December. As I overestimated then it means that I pay less in October, and nothing in November and December! Also, I see next years payments have gone down by about 5% - presumably because of the change to tax thresholds. For people with a "13th month" and who pay monthly, Christmas must really be a time of celebration as they effectivey get two months pay in december and don't pay any tax for this month! -Rob-

Thanks! I only used it to buy things with - but stopped to do that since I got an Oney cashback card and use moneybooker to transfer money. -Rob-

I have seen a nice property for sale in Paris which seems "too good to be true" when you consider the size of the apartment compared to the price, but it goes on to say ; ".Occupé par un bail de type loi de 48 rapport: 6000 E hc.. " What does this mean exactly? Is it that you buy it, but are forced to rent it out? Until when? An info appreciated? Regards, -Rob-

Hi Jenna, For my 2 pennies worth, I would reccommend the HSBC as they seem to be gearing themselved up to be the "world" bank and are perhaps more non-french friendly than some other banks. Regards, -Rob-

I suspect that a good majority of Brit buyers are non French tax residents (buying second homes) and so won't benefit from this. -Rob-

I found the following site very interesting. The big problem at Paris is when you want to go and visit some friends in the nearby Isle-de-France countryside and you don't have a car. Even harder if it's on a sunday or you are returning late as there are no "car hire" places open. This allows you to effectively hire the car from a nearby garage and be charged by the number of hours. It could work out a much cheaper and easier option than keeping a car for "occasional use". -Rob- http://www.caisse-commune.com/index.php  

Interesting that there is some news about the government debating having a "minimum level of taxation" today... with all the "tax credit" schemes going, it seems that there are an increasing number of people who avoid paying tax altogether, despite good incomes. Apparantly a similar scheme already exists in the USA. -Rob-

Following on from my last post about 50% tax reductions for hiring a cleaner, has anyone any experience with this? Filling out the tax forms is always a bit of a nightmare and so I would be interested to know what you need to do / how it works. There is a bit more detail about the details of the law here ; http://www.menage.fr/tarifs.php It is pretty interesting that for 8 euros an hour you can get someone from a specialised company to clean your flat and iron your clothes... in the UK we used to pay £15 an hour for a housecleaner. Regards, -Rob-

There was an intersting article in the "metro" today about how the goverment is considering a "minimum level of taxation" as due to the many "tax reduction" schemes it is possible to earn a good salary and not pay any income tax! They state a case of a family earning 82000 with two kids, who would normally pay 7000 income tax. If they pay 15000 euros to a "home employee" then they would get 7000 euros in tax credit  - thus meaning they would legally pay no income tax at all! Sounds very interesting! -Rob-