janemdc

Hi Lynda. You are perfectly entitled to keep horses without declaring yourself as a farmer and it's a road I wouldn't advise you to go down (even if you were able to as it's not easy!). To qualify as a  farmer you would have to possess a certain amount of land (14 hectares I think), breed or produce something and affiliate with the MSA rather than URSSAF - a completely different set-up. Good luck with your project - did I read that you are in Tarn & Garonne? - I'm in the Tarn near Castres.

Hello. From what you say  you will be classed as a small business. There are two things to consider and not to be confused, your trading status and your fiscal status. Your trading status can be anything from Artisan (registration with Chambre de Metiers) to Market Trader (registration with Chambre de Commerce), Entreprise Individuel, SARL, EURL. It sounds to me that you will be an Entreprise Individuel and you will register with the Chambre de Commerce - they will ask you to attend a day course before you can register your business which is very helpful. You will pay your social security charges (cotisations) to URSSAF. Your local URSSAF would be well worth a visit. You will  trade as a non commercial - your profits will be traeted as BNC (benifices non commercial) whereas someone buying and selling would have profits know as BIC (benifices industriel et commercial). Your fiscal status can be micro entreprise, Réel simple, Réel with TVA. As you will be a very small business, micro entreprise sounds the easiest option, no need for an accountant but the abbatement fiscal (the percentage which they assume you spend to run your business) is at 34%, so if your profession incurs lots of expenses, a réel regime could be more appropriate. Your scenario, if you were to set up as an Entreprise Individuel with Micro Entreprise statut: Annual Gross income                                     10 000 euros Abbatement Fiscal 34%  =                               3 400  euros BNC (profit) 66%           =                               6 600  euros Cotisations (S.S) 42% of 6 600 euros               2 772  euros Total profits/income on which you are taxed      3828 euros Obviously you won't pay tax on that amount, but that is another story! A good web site is: www.apce.com they have some information in English. If you are currently resident in France and not working you should definately sign on as seeking work at the ANPE. This could entitle you to a 'dossier ACCRE' which would exhonerate you from social security charges for 12 months with a prolongation of a further 12 - 24 months if you are Micro regime and depending on your turnover. Hope this helps a little, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Jane