sugarfree

OK, thanks very much. Interestingly, a straw poll of all the Brits I know here in France (and Germany) revealed that none of them have declared income from UK bank/building society accounts in their tax returns and so far, nobody has been contacted about it by the French/German tax authorities.  So what's going on?  Are the UK banks not actually passing on the information or is it just that the amounts involved are small and the French/German tax authorities think it's not worth pursuing them?  

Hello. I am resident in France but still have two savings accounts with the Nationwide back in the UK. As some of you may know, the Nationwide does not accept the R105 form, so every year, the interest on the accounts is paid net of tax, and I then have to claim back the tax from HMRC, a rather long and laborious process.  My question is, what figure should I enter in my French tax return:  the amount of interest paid by the Nationwide (i.e. the net interest) or the gross interest (net interest paid by the Nationwide + amount of tax refunded - eventually - by HMRC)?  I assume I should enter the gross figure. If I have understood correctly, the French tax authorities will then charge me 11% of the declared income from my UK building society accounts by way of "prélèvements sociaux".  I would be very grateful if somebody out there could confirm this for me.          

Hello. I'm just wondering whether there's anyone out there in the same position as myself.  I left the UK about 10 years ago and have huge gaps in my UK national insurance contributions, which means I won't be entitled to a UK state pension.  As far as I can gather, it may be possible for me to make good the shortfall but my question is, is it worth it?  I'm 43.  Do you think by the time I retire (I intend to return to the UK in my old age), the state pension will still be a universal benefit?  My fear is that if I make up the shortfall, I'll finally get to the age of 65 or whatever and discover that the benefit is means-tested (in which case I wouldn't be eligible because I will have a (fairly) good pension from an international organisation.  I don't pay into the French Social Security system). Anybody out there facing a similar dilemma?     

Hi, Trekker I've been asking myself this same question recently, in an effort to work out roughly how much money my husband and I would need per month once we retire. The figure I've come up with is 4,000 euros net per month.  I reckon that would be enough to cover our utility bills, car insurance, taxe d'habitation, taxe fonciere, etc.and still have plenty left over for a couple of restaurant meals per month and some foreign travel.  We will have no mortgage payments.  4,000 euros  a month is not a huge sum (by UK standards) but a lot of people in France manage to live very well on considerably less than that.           

Hi, I'm resident in France where I have access to a range of Exchange Traded Funds offered by Lyxor Asset Management (owned by Société Générale).  They are all eligible for the PEA. I'm keen to invest in China and I see Lyxor has two options here, one tracking the Hang Seng Index and the other the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index. Are there any old China hands out there who could advise me on which is the safer, long-term bet? I'm 42 and ideally, I would like to leave the money invested for the next 20 years. Perhaps I should just track both indices? Would love to hear your opinions!

Just a quick corrigendum:  I said in my original post that you could only have one PEA in your lifetime.  I have since discovered that that is not true - there is nothing to stop you closing your PEA today and opening a new one tomorrow.    Sorry for the mistake!    

Yes, go for it.  The sooner you start a PEA the better. If you find anything good to put in it, let me know.  As I said, I'm not too happy with the way my two Société Générale funds have performed and am now looking into Exchange Traded Funds.  I put 2400 euros into the Lyxor Russia ETF yesterday and am looking to invest another 2400 somewhere else.  Not sure whether to pick another geographic regon, such as Asia Pacific ex Japan, or a sector, such as Financial Services.  I'm in the for the long haul (about 20 years) so I can withstand a bit of turbulence.  No doubt the Russian investment will be a rollercoaster ride!          

Hi, Rob Yes, there is something similar to an ISA i n France.  It is called a "plan d'éparge actions" (PEA).  There is no annual limit on contributions - you can contribute up to 132,000 euros over your lifetime.  A couple can have 2 plans, giving you a contribution limit of 264,000 euros.  You are only ever allowed to open one plan in your lifetime.  After 8 years, the capital gains are tax-free but subject to "prélèvements sociaux" of 11%. Like the ISA, the PEA is a sort of tax-free envelope in which you can place all sorts of investments, subject to certain criteria.  In my own case, for example, I started out drip-feeding money every month into a couple of equity funds managed by the Société Générale.  I'm not over-impressed with the performance of these funds (or the charges attached to them) and am now thinking of suspending the monthly payments and channelling the money instead into a selection of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), still within the framework of my PEA.  Lyxor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Société Générale, now offers a great range of  ETFs, allowing you to cover a particular geographic region or sector.  As with all ETFs, the fees are considerably lower than with actively managed funds.  I'm thinking of putting a lump sum into Lyxor ETF Russia and Lyxor ETF DJ Stoxx 600 Financial Services.  Bear in mind, though, that the PEA is not a suitable vehicle if you want to buy and sell shares - you can't make withdrawals in the first 8 years of the plan (you can make withdrawals after the 8 years, but in that case, you won't be allowed to make any further contributions) so it's really only useful if you want to buy and hold.  If you don't want to use a bank, you can use an on-line broker such as Fortuneo, Boursorama or Symphonis.  I haven't tried any of these, so I can't vouch for them.  Basically, I don't like trying to sort things out in French over the telephone when things go wrong.  I prefer to be able to go the "guichet" in my bank and physically lay hands on somebody! Good luck!        

Hi. The Council of Europe is based permanently in Strasbourg, and the European Parliament visits one week in four.  Our salaries are tax-free.   

Hi. I don't actually pay tax at all.  I work for an international organisation and our salaries our tax-free. My bank, the SG, is fully aware of my status here in France and had no hesitation in opening a PEA and a Codevi for myself and my husband (whose salary, such as it is, is also tax-free).  I do, however, complete a French tax return every year.  Because our salaries our tax-free, though, we have never actually had to pay any tax.    

OK, problem solved.  I think   Have just spoken to the on-line broker, Hoodless Brennan, and it seems they have no problem with me using their sharedealing service.  

Good morning from sunny Strasbourg. I'm 42 and have been living in France for 8 years now.  Ideally, I would like to remain here for another 18 years, at which stage I intend to retire (at age 60) and return to the UK.  Over the next 15 years or so, I would like to invest about 10% of my salary every month in the stockmarket back in the UK.  My plan was to invest in something simple like Exchange Traded Funds, and to just buy and hold.  Once living back in the UK as a retiree, I would then sell these as and when I needed the money, making use of my capital gains allowance (currently around £8,000 per year). I have, however, run into a problem.  Although domiciled for tax purposes in the UK, as a non-UK resident none of the British on-line sharedealing services I have contacted are prepared to let me invest through them.  It's not as if I'm trying to pay into an ISA or a personal pension (neither of which, I realise, is available to me as a non-resident).  I  just want to buy some stocks & shares and keep them until I'm in my 60s and living back in the UK.  I don't intend to sell them before then, so there would be no tax liability until I'm a UK resident again.  Here in France I do have a PEA (plan d'épargne actions), in which I have invested a very small sum.  I'm reluctant to keep paying into this, though, because I recently discovered from my bank (the Société Générale) that as soon as I cease to be resident in France, I have 2 options: 1. Sell all the holdings immediately and benefit from the tax-saving effect of the PEA. 2. Close the PEA and transfer all the holdings to an ordinary "compte titre", in which case the tax-saving effect is lost.  The shares would lie there in my French bank account until I chose to sell them, at which point I would no doubt have to get embroiled in tortuous dealings with the French tax authorities. Not a prospect I relish - I would rather deal with Her Majesty's Customs & Revenue.  Selling the holdings wouldn't be a problem if I knew for certain when I was going to be leaving France, as I could time it so that I sold when the shares were doing well.  The fact is, however, that I don't know for certain when I'll be leaving.  There is considerable uncertainly about the future of the organisation I work for and I could well find myself back in the UK looking for a new job in 5 years' time. Does anybody have any ideas about what I should do?  Or know of a way I can buy shares back in the UK?  I do have a UK address I can use (my Mum's!) and from talking to HM Revenue and Customs, it appears that they have no problem with me investing in funds, etc. back in the UK.  It's just that every sharedealer I contact has a clause about the service being for UK residents only! Sorry this is so long and rambling.   Any advice would be greatly appreciated.