Advice needed re taxation and cotisation issues

[Lister]

I have searched thses forums and found nothing which helps my particular situation.

I have just got a job managing someone's gites in Poitou Charentes. I need to set up as a small business and I believe that a micro bic is the way forward with that from what I have been told and what I have read. The wages fall just within the limit of  a micro bic earnings which i believe to be 24,000 euros per annum. So far so good. This should allow my family to move to France and should take away some of the fears.

 However I am currently self employed as a sole trader designing websites in the UK. I had  planned to continue doing this from France part time. My partner is currently the main wage earner in our family I currently only earn about £2000-£3000 per year from the web design and wouldn't have expected to rise much above this in France. It is only a way to bring in a little extra income. It seems from what I have read that I would have to set up a separate microbic to continue this as it is a completely different trade to gite management. this would of course mean paying out more in cotisations etc in the first three years than I would earn. Is there a way round this? Can anyone offer any advice on the best way forward in my position.

On top of this I am a director of a limited company with 2 partners in the UK. This company is in the middle of developing a web application. We have made not a single penny in the last 18 months and we cannot see us making any money at all for at least another year probably two. After that it should  hopefully start to bring in money  and whatever I have to do to register that income in France I will do. I am not about avoiding  my obligations.  My concerns are that in the meantime I may have to register as a subsidiary in France with all the associated costs rendering the whole venture inaffordable. As this is the likeliest route to supporting my family eventually when dividend payments hopefully bring enough money this is the most important thing I am doing even though for now and the next couple of years it is bringing in absolutely not a penny we are actually making a loss as we pay out for various costs. As I plan to restart our life in france with our children and all the upheaval of moving I am getting scared that we are closing more avenues than opening.

I hope I have explained myself and hope someone has some advice.

Thanks in advance

[Will]

I regret that your fears may be justified and you could be in line for, if not exactly three separate lots of charges, at least an expensive regime.

As your situation is far from simple, with several different income streams, the best advice is to consult a professional. It should be possible for you to set yourself up in such a way that your exposure to paying unnecessary charges is minimised, but I fear that if you try and do it yourself, or rely on the sort of unqualified advice you get from people like me on internet forums, you will find that the cost of overlooking even one small point can be considerable. At least a proper accountant will have professional insurance to cover giving wrong advice, something you won't get from the forum.

The latest proposals for new micro businesses seem to be intended to make it simpler to start as a part-time enterprise alongside your existing employment but it is far from clear whether it will actually make any difference at all in the overall scheme of things.

[Lister]

Thanks for your reply. I am beginning to appreciate just how difficult this could make things for me. I have just sent an email to my accountants asking for some advice. I was just hoping basically that someone could come on and say that there was some obvious solution I had missed.