benson

I received recently from our bank a form detailing all info concerning each of our childrens savings accounts. the accompanying letter said dont forget to send the top section of each form off with you tax declaration and keep the bottom section for your records. We have never had this before and we havnt received one for our own accounts. Has there been some changes made to the tax forms this year regarding bank accounts?

Hi I have a quick but very important taxation question regarding earnings thresholds for micro enterprises.  Are the limits applicable before or after the abattements are taken off?  ie the limit for labour is 27,000.00 if you declare this amount then have your deduction of 52% you are at 14,040.00 or is it that you can earn 54,000.00 because after the 52% abattement you are at the limit of 27,000.00 Also what do you do if your earnings are higher than the threshold? Many thanks

Hi Our car was a jap import to UK where it was registered.  We started the proceedure to re-register it in france and when we applied for a certificate de conformite we only achaived partial conformite as 1 letter on the vin plate was marked as a number on the uk log book. Today it has been for its inspection for  reception de titre isole.  The only thing that doesn't comply are the seat belts as we have lap belts in the back but we have been told that the japenese vin plate is no good here even though it displays all the required info so we have to get a new one made the kind chap even drew a picture of it and marked all the info it has to show but where can we get this done?  Any ideas??

Hello again and thankyou for your helpful replies to my previous post. Could anybody tell me where to find the DRIRE in Gueret?? I have heard tell that it is easier to go in person than to phone for an appointment.

Many thanks

Hi all We are in the process of trying to register our car in France.  I started the process by sending off the form to the DRIRE as suggested on this site.  They sent my form (and cheque) back and told me I had to apply to Mitsubushi France.  So I wrote a letter asking for a certificate de conformite and they sent me an attestation de conformite partielle.  The attestation stated that the car complied with all aspects of the code de la route francais but the structure of the chassis number is different. (by 1 letter) There was nothing to say what I had to do next so we went to the prefecture.  They said I have to apply to the DRIRE but as stated above they directed me to the manufacturer.  Maybe its me but I feel like I'm going round in circles!!  Has anyone else been issued with a partielle or can anyone suggest what I should do now many thanks

Thankyou and fingers crossed!!

...17 month old male Labrador. He is fantastic with other people, children, chickens, geese and other dogs and cats but no good around our sheep.  He doesnt attack them but will not leave them alone and this is causing them great stress.  We do not want to leave him tied up all the time and so it is with great regret that we have decided to rehome him. We are in La creuse (23) If you require any further details please contact me. Many thanks.

Bobc I understood you were agreeing with me! -Thankyou.  It was just to point it out as when we first started trading sevaral years ago the CdM advised us to register as a micro and we felt it sensible - at the time as we were unsure how well the business would do.  It was fine for the first 6-12 months but you are quite right if your business does well as thankfully ours is, it is impossible to run as a micro not just due to the amount of turnover but in most other aspects such as banking finance etc, if you are a micro, for some reason you are not really considered a serious business as they do not consider your finances transparent enough to judge your financial situation!!

Anton Sorry, please dont get narky, I realised as soon as i posted that you meant stage payments by stages of completion and work in this way ourselves but still ask for a deposit to cover start up costs etc, which is the norm around here for french and english artisans, then a payment either midway or in stages depending on the size of the project and final payment on reception of the facture after completion. You are quite right that trust is a 2 way street which is why I suppose we have not had to many problems as most of the work we do is now through reccommendations as previous clients are more than happy to put our name forward although we have had problems in the past with people who live abroad and who have taken weeks after compltion of work to come up with the final payment. As pointed out by another poster, proving you have the money and actually paying it are 2 different things.  in response to a different post it is not just people on the black who arent TVA registered   Micro enterprises are TVA exempt  but are a legit business and devis and facture in euros.

'I will prove I have the money available and will make arrangements for weekly stage payments on evidence of completion of work' You will begin stage payments AFTER completion of work??? I dont think that would work!!! Payment in FULL after completion maybe!! Another solution maybe is to pay for the materials yourself before commencement of work and be billed for labour only after completion. 

 The same was said to us at the stage CdM It must vary from dept to dept .  If the builder is well established ie built up a busniess over many many years or owns a fairly large company he maybe he could afford to purchase materials etc himself but many of us can not.  We were told a deposit up front is the norm with stage payments (unless the job is very small)  All the work we have had done by French Artisans has worked this way. and this is the way we work to.  It works well and we have never received complaint.  It is  very frustraiting if working for a client who does not live near (abroad) by waiting for payments sometimes many weeks after completion.    I sometimes feel that some people think that money builders make goes straight into their pocket as profit. We have social charges, bills, a young family to raise and a renovation of or own to finance amongst other things. Just like everyone else. I understand that people are wary of parting with money to strangers but if you have checked that the artisan is registered etc and you have signed a Devis you have a legal contract should anything go wrong.  Artisans to are wary of going into debt purchasing materials incase the client then dissapears or changes their mind. Reccommendations help to build trust and confidence on both sides.

It is a sad fact that this sort of thing happens fairly frequently in all areas.  It makes things very difficult for the 'real' artisans.  It does appear to be a case of the 'British' praying on the British.  In some cases allthough unfair the clients themselves are partly to blame as it is their responsibility to ensure the artisan is registered etc.  My hubby is an English, French registered Artisan and most of the work he obtains is through previous clients who are more than happy to reccommend him to others. This means less money needed on Advertising! Recently more and more clients are calling on him to put right the work of others, work they have already paid for that is unfinished badly done or worst of all to do work for people who have paid builders who never even started the work after recieving payment. All I can say is be careful and try to source your Artisans through reliable means ask to see projects they have worked on previously and make sure the owner of the property is availiable to verify that the work was done by that person. 

Hi dept 23 nr aubusson, last 4 days between -4 and -7 night up to 10 degrees in day. Hope this helps

(La Creuse) This morning at 6.30am we had a second phase  of cranes flying overhead (the first being back in Oct) Better than an alarm clock!!