Being Self-Employed

[countrygrooms]

Hi, we are looking to relocate from Hampshire, UK to France- likely the Limousin region- within the next year or so, taking along with us out two sons who by then will be approx. 2 and 7.

We are not intending to undertake 'employment' in France but would more like to become self employed.

I am a qualified groom/ riding instructor and my husband is a landscaper so potentially we both have the potential to 'potter' about and take up self employment when in France under our respective experience- gardening, riding lessons etc.

Alternatively we would look at buying a property with outbuildings/ gites which can potentially be used as holiday rentals- thus providing us with an income.

How easy is it to become self employed and declare earnings in France- are there various ways to go about it, and how easy is it to set up tax wise compared to the UK.

I know it is reasonably simple in the UK and just a case of declaring yor earnings over the financial year- is it like this in France and what are taxes like compared to the UK.

From what i have researched so far i believe taxes are quite high and it seems quite complicated as social care etc is linked to your income and the info i have found so far seems to be conflicting and confusing!!

Any advice on becoming self-employed would be more than useful just so we can be prepared and decide what we will definately be doing upon our arrival!

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

On a small scale, and for most types of work, it's eaasy enough to become self-employed in France. For starters look at all the videos available here:

http://thenakedaccountant.wordpress.com/

The simplest route into self employment is to become an auto-entrepreneur:

http://www.pbss-uk.com/AEGuide_March2009_EN.pdf

However, gardening/landscaping is one of the exceptions to the AE regime as it is lumped in with agriculture. To do any serious level of gardening work you need to be registered with MSA and pay sizeable chunks of money to them for your social security (equivalent to NI) dues, known as 'cotisations'.

http://www.msa.fr/front/id/msafr

Typically in France the cotisations are much more significant than income tax.

[P-D de Rouffignac]

Hallo - a number of considerations.

You need first to check that your qualifications as a groom/riding instructor and landcaper ('paysagiste') are recognised in France, and most importantly that you can get adequate professional and public liability insurance. This can be particularly difficult for those with 'foreign' qualifications.

Regarding a gite, many are struggling at the moment, unless you offer something very special or different, activities, vegetarain/organic food etc.

Taxes in France are broadly similar to UK but the social contributions can be a huge burden - 45% of income under some regimes. The approximate equivalent to self-employment in France is the 'auto-entrepreneur' regime which you can investigate on the internet, and on this and other forums, but there are doubts about how easy it is to get adequate social cover if this is your only income source. Private medical cover is hard to get - in spite of the adverts! - and expensive.

Finally, you need to be sure you have a market for your services and an income stream from day one, a sufficient budget to buy a property, and savings to fall back on in the event that things do not go as smoothly as anticipated.

Do research the forums and elsewhere before making any irrevocable decisions. France currently has high unemployment but last year there was a record number of new business creations.

P-D de R.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

[quote user="P-D de Rouffignac"]The approximate equivalent to self-employment in France is the 'auto-entrepreneur' regime which you can investigate on the internet, and on this and other forums, but there are doubts about how easy it is to get adequate social cover if this is your only income source. [/quote]

Peter, I frequently read similar doubts and would be interested to know if there are any real problems out there. To avoid hijacking this thread I've started another one:

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2033361/ShowPost.aspx

[P-D de Rouffignac]

Dear Albert the I-G

I take your point and read your always well-informed posts with great interest. I was basing my remarks in this case on the sort of problems described particularly on www.auto-entrepreneur.fr by French nationals, about dealing with the various 'caisses' etc, rather than the 'brits trying to use A-E as a back door route to health cover' thread.

Best regards - P-D de R.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

Thanks, Peter.

I must say that you seem to be vastly better-informed than me, probably because I don't take the time to keep up with the French AE forums. I agree that the whole saga of 'which caisse' causes a lot of problems. My wife (French national but initially covered by an E106) had a stretch of several weeks where CPAM said she was now under RSI and RSI claimed to have never heard of her. It's sorted now, but she found it a bit worrying.

I never thought that I'd be nostalgic for the UK National Insurance service, but compared to the fragmented French equivalent it's a masterpiece of transparent clarity.