Quillan
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Posts posted by Quillan
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I was under the impression that the S1 is an EU form, we just get an English language version. Holding an S1 does not mean you can't work like me for example, I have one, I don't draw and OAP pension because I am to young so I work. I am not alone, I know that for a fact.
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Playing devils advocate perhaps some of the EU migrants that have gone to the UK think the same. They paid it at home why do they have to pay again. Don't forget different EU countries have different way of collecting the contributions.
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Here is the BBC link I talked about on Hydrogen filling stations and Toyota hydrogen car
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34647343
There are rumours that Apple are developing a car, the ICar (http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-car-reports-tim-cook-interview-2015-10) it will come with predictive cornering. [;-)]
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Well the not so new now Routemaster buses are diesel hybrid although the new, Chinese build, all electric buses were supposed to be rolled out this October. I have no idea if they have been, perhaps somebody can confirm. The reason I mention this is because if true what Paul said about politicians (which I personally agree with, how about that) is correct. The not so new Routemaster, commissioned by Boris and built in the UK was launched big time as not only a 'jump on and off bus' but also creating jobs in the UK. A lot of council tax payers money in London was spent on this project which is being replaced with electric buses built by non UK workers.
Many computer service companies working in London gave up using company cars years ago. Back in the mid 1980's both IBM and DEC took their London service engineers cars away and gave them annual travel passes instead because of speed of getting to site. Parts were delivered by bike and big parts swapped out at weekends. A lot of deliveries are now done at night anyway to cut back on both congestion charges for the delivery companies and to keep congestion down but that still does not deal with the pollution in that it may not be as much in the day but over a 24 hour period it remains the same.
The congestion charges did not stop people driving into London because most cars entering are company cars and the congestion charges are simply passed on to the customer so it does not really put people off bringing their company cars in to London. I think the only thing they can really do is simply ban cars from central London from say 06:00 to 19:00. This does however need to be backed up by good, cheap, heavily subsidised, public transport. London however as the capital city of the UK only receives around a 2p subsidy per passenger journey compared to the maximum of 18p in non-metropolitan areas. The UK subsidised public transport the least, or so I read, out of all the EU countries and when it comes down to capital cities in Europe it is at the bottom. I used to drive from Docklands to the V&A (South Ken) every day because it was more pleasant and actually (slightly) quicker even in the rush hour but more expensive but then the customer was paying.
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Thats the one Wooly, £66k for a new one and only four refilling stations in the UK, all in and around London. Hyundai make one as well and it's €7k cheaper whoopie. They only allocated 15 cars in 2015 and 18 more are expected in 2016. The only price for refilling I could find was in Germany and it cost 46 Euros to fill the tank. There is no government incentive to buy them in the UK either although they are talking about a €5k grant in the future. Oh yes and there are four stations in France, a bit more spaced out, our nearest is Albi a good hours drive away. So all in all stick with a Hybrid for the moment I would think.
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Théière - It's the 2L version and to be fair I use it as a run around because it is an estate which I can take all the seats out and use as a 'minivan' for the B&B. Longer trips I use another car which whilst it gives pretty poor fuel consuption is a real pleasure to drive. [;-)]
Gardengirl - Have to say I have not driven one yet so your comment "It won't be a Prius, as I really don't like driving it." interests me so I am wondering why?
Wooly - Toyota makes a pre production hydrogen car, I read about it on the BBC website under the technology bit. They have sent several of these cars to many countries (including not just Europe but the UK) and 'given' them to real people to test. As you say the problem is recharging them but Toyota has come up with a solution, a pump that makes its own hydrogen. Problem is it takes two weeks to make 18 litres which are enough to fill up six cars plus it uses a lot of electricity. Uses water apparently, so water in, hydrogen out then back to water. It's the old argument in that all you’re doing is moving the pollution somewhere else. I saw that the mayor of London (well vice mayor to be exact) expects diesel vehicles to be banned from London by 2020. I wonder what happens to buses and lorries making deliveries -
[quote user="gardengirl "]Our average is 55mpg, which includes quite a bit of stop/start in town driving in UK particularly, obviously much higher when on long runs and especially to and from France/UK. It's heading for 6 years old and no problems with the battery so far.[/quote]
How many miles has yours done and have you had any expensive bills?
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Thanks Betty that's the stuff. I think the amounts are out of date from what I read elsewhere and as said is coming to an end. The bit it was really interested in was the carte grise cost. Seems this is still controlled by department in France and the Prius is really cheap to register, about half that of a Peugeot 308SW that we currently have which is supposed to be low C02 emission.
It is a Prius I am looking at, Clarkson would have a fit I suspect but hey ho with diesel fuel due to see an increase due to extra tax added over the next three years making it at least the same price as petrol if not more it seems a good time to dump the diesel Peugeot before they lose too much second hand value. I was rather worried about about the battery life as a new one costs over €4,500 including fitting but the Prius 3 (bought after 1 June 2012) has a ten year battery warranty and what with the Prius 4 coming out in 2016 their prices are dropping.
I know Honda Hybrid MPG claims have been disputed and they got 'done' in the US because of this and I doubt you get 72mpg out of Prius 3 although from what I have read it seems 55 to 65mpg is more the norm which is a bit better than my Peugeot (47mpg claimed more like 38mpg). The insurance is cheaper as well. Up until I read about the tax increases and the VW scandal I rather favoured the Audi A4 but have discounted going that route now as it would be the 2L engine, the problem one.
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I was wondering if there are any benefits of owning one like in the UK where you don't pay or pay very little road tax (which we don't have in France) and the same for congestion charges. I mean are things like is registering such a car in France cheaper for example?
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Don't assume anything including that the internal wiring of your new 'box' is correct. It sounds to me as if there is a wire somewhere that either shouldn't be there or it's in the wrong place. Do the old 'divide and divide again' fault finding technique. Assuming you wired everything up including the new tank try disconnecting the tank from your new 'box' (at the box end) and try again. If it still does not work try disconnecting the cable that goes from N/J output to the relay. That said the first thing I would do is have a nice cup of tea, relax and look at the drawing for the box then go back ten minutes later and go through it wire by wire.
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For many change is a terrible and frightening thing so they prefer stay 'as is'. Take the man with the hotel, he likes to walk around telling others what to do and stand over them while they do it when he could easily get a tin of paint and start painting one of the rooms himself. Clearly by the amount of 'meetings' he attends as the mayor he had plenty of time before. He also owned another hotel (22 rooms, big restaurant, balconies on the rooms and a roof terrace) just across the road which was in the same state internally. It was bought for less than €100k, a bargain, but when we looked so much work was needed we couldn't take the financial gamble.
The new owners have spent at least a €100k renovating it with double glazing, reversible clim, new bedroom decor and furniture, renovated the restaurant and a new kitchen. They rented out the restaurant business which is what I would have done with a commitment to supply breakfast for the guests. Judging by the cars parked out front every morning they do a good business because when you stand on the corner and look at the two it is obvious which one you will pick especially if you check on Booking or TripAdvisor. So successful have they been that they bought the building behind them, knocked it down and built a new extension to the hotel offering a further 20 rooms and staff accommodation.
From the gossip I have heard the old owner, now mayor, has spent a lot of time verifying that all the permits etc are correct i.e. looking for a way to screw them. Rather than invest the money he got back into his remaining hotel he drives around in a nice new big Merc yet when you see him in one of the bars (when he could be painting a room) he is always complaining about his lack of business and how everyone has it in for him including the new owners opposite. The problem for him now is he would be lucky to get even €100k for his hotel plus who would buy it knowing they would have to spend a fortune and there is excellent competition opposite. He is now a very bitter man and a typical example of why it is so important to keep up with changes.
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If only he could "think". [8-)]
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Have to say we used something similar in the UK years ago, the only difference was they came to your house to cook. Great if you are having a dinner party and no washing up afterwards. We must of used them seven or eight times, brilliant and not that expensive (at the time).
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Assuming that this guy is just making a statement based on assumption about them not paying tax which they may well be doing then the rest of it is utter rubbish.
It seems to me that rather than look at themselves and ask "what am I doing wrong that makes it more appealing for people to do this than come to my hotel/resteraunt?" they just ask for the actvity to be banned. I guess this is to do with the socialist mentality of the French in that it does not appreciate competition.
The mayor of Quillan owns a hotel there. He has a thing about CdH's because they are taking reservations away from his hotel. I suggested he read the reviews on Tripadvisor to see what he is doing wrong that makes people stay with us and the other CdH's and hotels in the area. He just didn't get it at all and said that the reason he got the lowest rating out of all the hotels in about 100km2 was because we, the CdH owners, were giving him false reviews. I pointed out that photo's do not lie and that having last decorated in the 1930's (it's all two tone green, sagging beds, bakerlite phones and 1930's lamps etc complete with fabric coated cables) it might be time to redecorate. Some double glazing on the rooms that overlook the main junction in town might also help as it is 1m from the main road. His answer was "I can't afford it because I am broke thanks to all you CdH owners". They always have an answer and it's always somebody elses fault.
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[quote user="Hereford"]Are you replying to my post Quillan, or the next one!!
We are tax resident in France but are forced to do a UK tax return just for our rental income. To make sure there is no misunderstanding by HMRC we always note on our UK return that everything else is taxed in France and on all our pension income we have NT codes. We have done this for the last 12 years and occasionally spoken to HMRC and they are happy.
All other income is taxed in France and, of course, the rental income is also taken into account to get at the tax rate.
[/quote]I was refering to your post. The 'name of the game' is to ensure the right 'people' are happy and not to 'rock the boat' as it were. That works very well in France and it is very important that your French tax 'inspector' interprets the rules in the way it is most benificial for you as I have discovered over the years to my advantage. [;-)] I decided, for instance, not to go ahead with claiming back the CSG because Mrs 'Q' has just started some very expensive treatment and the last thing I want is for the French system to say I do not contribute (having claimed back the money). Whilst this would not be true of course as an S1 holder I don't want them to withhold any payments during the treatment and think it better to wait till afterwards to make the claim. In other works not to 'rock the boat' for the want of making a small payment every year. So as you say they are happy and it works for you then continue, I would.
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You are tax resident in the country in which you 'primarily abode' (live). I don't think you can get away with what you are doing unless neither tax authority is aware of the other. You might find the following link of interest to define where you are tax resident. The only bit it does not cover is UK public service pensions (military, police etc) which have to be taxed in the UK.
http://www.kentingtons.com/blog/tax-residency/are-you-a-tax-resident-of-france/
It's one of the clearer documents on this issue. If you complete the form I linked to then the French and UK tax authorities will know your situation as to tax residency (because you have to give a copy to each and one of the copies is in French) i,e, your French tax resident.
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[quote user="AnOther"]I don't profess to understand it but I recently cashed in a very small pension from a job I had in the late 80's (under 4k) and 15% tax was withheld.
To avoid having to wait until after April next year to claim it back I've submitted an R43 form as an 'in year' claim on the advice of HMRC.
Regarding the sending of original documents, the provider in question above requested those but I sent photo copies figuring that if they really didn't like them they'd be back in touch.
My birth certificate is a long one which was two sheets of A4 landscape blatantly copied and selotaped together.
I heard nothing for a few weeks then got a recorded delivery letter thanking me for them and saying that all was in order and that they were returning my 'originals' !
Don't believe everything you're told !
[/quote]I didn't have to send anything like that. I phoned them (Axa Wealth) up and they sent me an application form to fill in and send back. The cheque arrived about 10 days later much to my amazement.
There are two ways of 'cashing in' your pension. The first is to cancel and take the money the second is to take a 100% drawdown. The difference between the two is that the latter is classed as a pension payment because you can chose to either put your money in an equity or take monthly/yearly draw downs the amount of which is up to you. Being classed as a pension means you only pay the 7.5% tax rate in France, the other way it is classed as savings which attracts a higher tax rate, or so I am told. Don't forget that you get the first 25% tax free anyway so what with your tax allowance etc I would think you probably paid around 20% and not 15% because you didn't take the first 25% tax free into account.
Anyway if you are marked as not tax resident in the UK then on April 1st they will recalculate your tax on the payment which will make the tax code NT and they will send you a cheque automatically. They know I am not tax resident in the UK because they tried to fine me £300 plus interest years ago for not completing a tax return until I pointed out I had written to them when I left the UK to let them know I was 'emigrating' to France. They wrote back to say they found the letter and that they had decided to cancel the fine out of kindness, no "sorry we got wrong and it was our fault".
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Well if you get it before the 1st Jan 2016 you have to put it on the 2015 tax form which you will pay halfway through 2016. If you manage to get it after 1st Jan 2015 it of course means you be paying it sometime in 2017.
You will be paying a lot of tax initially on it, around 40% but you will be claiming the tax back using the form I gave at the begining. The the next payment date for the tax to be returned is on the 2nd November. I don't know when the other dates are because they didn't tell me neither do I know how many there are just when mine is but they are at fixed times every year. They are released in batches.
The reason for the high tax rate is because they multiply the amount you get by 52 (weeks in the year because it is paid in one week), take off your tax allowance then tax you. The pension company does this using a special tax code but once they have processed your tax reclaim form you will get a tax coding letter from HMRC with at code of NT (no tax). They also tell you that the pension company will give you the money back which they won't because they sent the money to HMRC within days of sending you the cheque so you have to claim it back from HMRC. I thought I was going to be shoved from pillar to post on that one but when I phoned HMRC ready to give them both barrels they were really nice, put me on hold for four or five minutes then came back and said no problem the cheque for the tax is on the next run. So don't get to wound up when you get your letter about the tax code from the HMRC, just give them a call and explain and have your NI and pension number available.
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[quote user="woolybanana"]it is the Montreuil in the Pas de Calais; there are several in France[/quote]
Do a bit of research on the place if I were you. Some nice photo's of cars floating around, literally, there.
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If you have not watched, listened or read the news seems a few million names and bank account details have been nicked from them and customers are advised to watch their bank accounts for unusual activity.
On the BBC news website there is talk about a ransom note.
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[quote user="CeeJay"]Thanks for all the replies, very helpful, I will try to separate the feed into the three freezers as that seems the much more likely cause.
[/quote]A couple of things. If it is as I suggested it may well have happened in the past? You could just run an extension lead from a socket that is on a different circuit that you can ensure anything else attached to that circit is switched off. If you have a washing machine down there it should be on its own circuit so you could unplug that and use an extension to plug one of the freezers in. You could also check the amperage of the existing circuit, it should be 16A but I have seen circuits with a 10A breaker.
Edit - Actually thinking about it if it is easy to run a cable round and you have space in your fuse box why not run two (if only the freezers are on a single circuit) or three new circuits round, each with it's own breaker. The chances of all three tripping at any one time would be rather small I would think. Thinking out loud as I type this are only the freezers on this circuit or is there something else which could have tripped it?
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[quote user="CeeJay"]Quillan
I thought that question might come up!!! The answer is I can't remember, but I think it was just the trip to the freezers, I don't recall having to switch the mains back on. From the replies so far I guess it really is a matter of taking a chance or getting someone in to check every day!
[/quote]Or have a mega BBQ before you go.
I don't think you need somebody to check every day but if there is a key holder ask them to check if there is a storm.
Actually I just thought, how did you know it was lightening, I mean was there external damage or signs to the house? We have a metal chimney and the corner of the cover over the top is melted where it struck or was it that a neighbour told you there was a storm sometime during your abscence and you might have been struck by lightening?
Are all three freezers on the same breaker? I ask this because once or twice under very particular circumstances ours used to trip out because they were all on the same breaker. It was when the compressor pump started up and if by some million to one chance they all start at the same time then just for a split second it is more than 16A and the breaker tripped. The fix for this was to run another cable round (they are in the garage so no problem) and one from a seperate breaker.
Just a couple of thoughts.
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[quote user="CeeJay"]Beginning of the year we spent two months in New Zealand and on our return found that all 3 of the freezers had suffered a power failure and obviously had lost all of the contents. From what I remember it was a mains failure possibly through a lightning strike rather than an internal problem.
[/quote]Well really it isn't that simple given the information and of course if you had one it would not save the freezers because there would be nobody around to reset it.
When you got back to your house was all the power off, just the breakers to the frezzers had tripped or are you saying your freezers 'blew up'?
We don't have one and have been struck by lightening. The whole house tripped on the main breaker and much to my disapointment nothing was damaged. I say that because we pay a nominal extra on our house and contents insurance just in case. I was rather looking forward to a new TV, computer and a few other gadgets.
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I don't know yet how you prove when you started work, I guess that will come as part of the information they are sending me. If it does I will add it to the thread. I have a suspicion that it might be your French tax bill but I don't really know yet. Fortunatly not a problem for us because we went and "signed up" for tax withing a month or two of being here. If it is the tax system then you actually get a bit extra time wise because of the different way the UK and the French start their tax year and whilst it says you paid tax it does not say which day you arrived just sometime inside that tax year.
You really need to get an up to date assesment of qualifying years. Unfortunatly you can't do it online because you are not in the UK so you need to apply for it but you can at least do that over the phone if you call 0044 191 218 3600.
https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/who-can-pay-voluntary-contributions (Sets some of the criteria for making voluntary payments from abroad)
https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/rates (Give you the current rates for 2015/16 and previous years rates via a pdf file lower down the page)
The website is as clear as mud really. If you read the 'headline' on the page for example they say everyone will get the £151 per week then as you read further down in the smaller print it says to find out exactly what your going to get do this or do that. Then on another page it says the minimum you will get is £115 per week but then further down that page it says something like depending on your qualifying years you may get less, again not in the first bit you read but after you have scrolled down the page and in smaller print. Even then you won't find the way to pay the extra years unless you specifically search and after that only at the very bottom of that page does it tell you how to do it from abroad and of course once you have drawn your very first pension payment you can't then top it up which they only tell you in some hard to find pdf file. Basically they are IMO making it difficult to find out because they don't ant people to know they can enhance their pensions by paying a relatively small amount of money. Like I said in my first post you really need to give them a call on the number in that post (it's a different number and department to the one above for just getting a forecast). It's worth a punt because you never know and from reading the newspapers people in the UK are discovering that they are getting nowhere near the £151.
latest on those pesky social contributions, please
in French Finance
Posted
First question first, I have an S1 because my wife attained pensionable age last year. I use the term work because that's what I would call it however the French tax system calls it a non professional income. Mrs Q is half of that income in France and we are taxed here together.
Owning and running a bar, cafe, restaurant and gite is quite a different thing under the French system apparently whereas CdH's and another type of accommodation who's name escapes me are considered non professional and not work. That's the French system, nothing to do with or planned by me.
We are technically classed as poor in France and the only thing we pay is CSG. We don't pay tax because it is always under 10 Euros and we don't pay Tax Habitation. The only interaction we have ever had is a visit to the Tresor Public and the Chambers of Commerce. The latter said they were not interested (which we finally got in writing) and the Tresor Public said OK then put your turnover in this box because the Chambers of Commerce do not recognise you as a professional and if things change we will let you know.
That was 13 years ago, two years ago because there was a change on the tax form we were summoned to the Tresor Public (they added another box to put the income in) and took the opportunity to verify both verbally and in writing that everything was correct and to carry on.
Ever since we arrived in France we have come under CPAM, never paid 'normal' social charges and were told we were entitled to 100% cover although we always thought that was taking the p1ss as we could afford a mutual so never completed the forms, the ones we were sent yet didn't ask for. Until this year we always got a form from CPAM to fill in our income every year and attach all those bits and bobs (birth certificate, marriage certificate, copy of passport, Carte Vital etc, etc) and of course our tax bill. Now as I am classed as non professional and both of us have S1's I see no reason why we should have to pay CSG either. This is what we have always thought was normal in France because it is what the French state has told us.
Of course if we started now we could not go into the same system as we are in now and it would be quite different and more expensive as I understand it. We were asked if we wanted to change to the new system but the lady at the Tresor Public said it was not in our interests to do so but that it was our choice. Having had it explained we stuck to the old system. This is why I can never understand why people 'cheat' the system here, it's a very good system and gives you lots of benefits if you do what you are told to do by the system. So all in all as far as I have been instructed to do by both the Chamber of Commerce (which is nothing and I have that in writing) and the Tresor Public, I have just paid out for the extra years for my UK state pension (before somebody closes that loophole) and have an S1 I can't see what impact it has or will have on my healthcare in France.