La Maison des Artistes

[Meg]

Has anyone been through the registering process with La Maison des Artists.

Been on their website but am now unsure how to begin and how the proceedings work?

Can anyone shed any light?

Thanks [:)]

[raindog]

Sorry meg, i'm a member, but it's so long ago when I joined I can't remember what I had to do.

I know they tighten up on entries every so often, because the cotisations are less than other proffessions everybody and his dog wants to be an artist and join. [:)]

[Meg]

No worries Raindog!

I'm thinking it's worth a try though! Worst they can say is no![:D]

What is it you do? Meant to ask on photograph thread.

[artsole]

Hi Meg,

You go to the website of the MDA and you can print off their inscription forms. They will require proof that you are in fact an artist ie: photos of your most recent work. (This has to be 'artistic': paintings, sculpture etc. They do not accept 'artisans'. The benefits of insription with MDA is low cotisations but only if you earn above say 6000 € per year. This applies to tax as well. Other benefits include: you can claim unemployment benefit whilst still earning a living (if you are entitled) or RMI if you are not! With these benefits it all depends on a lot of things, like what your partner earns etc; Every year they will demand photos of recent work, plus what you have earned and sometimes receipts of work you have sold. Hope this is helpful and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. The website does explain quite a lot!

[Meg]

Blimey 2 months have vanished and i still haven't got round to it!

Yep I had a look on the site a while back, but still getting a portfolio/pictures sorted. I need to clone myself, too much to do, too few hours in the day.

What happens if you earn less than €6000? Suppose i should get looking on the site [:$]

Thanks artsole......[:D] (loving that username!)

[raindog]

hey meg, I was wondering how you were getting on with this. Good idea to take your time and present absolutely the best "book" you can. Good luck once again! [:)]

[artsole]

Sorry meg,

I wasn't clear about that. You don't pay any cotisation if you earn less than 6000€. You start to pay above that amount, the same applies to tax. I'm not totally sure, but the cotisation figure is probably higher.  Obviously, you will need a good book/or website to present to galleries, but for the MDA, just a few photos will be enough. What do you do by the way?

[Meg]

Nope it was me being a thicko artsole! [:)]

Had another quick look on the site last night, not sure what form i need as there are a few. [blink] My brain is not in admin mode at the moment, so I'll sit down and tackle it properly when i have got some good piccies together. All i want to do is make stuff......not all this iccky paperwork, but gotta be done! I shall shout at myself to get on with it. [:D]

I'm an Artist blacksmith/ metalworker. But for the next year or so am planning mainly sculptural/ arty stuff as opposed to architectural metalwork, hence not wanting to register as an artisan at this point.

Thanks raindog! [:)]

[artsole]

Meg,

I've been looking through my paperwork (a mess but occasionally I can find stuff) [:'(] and I remembered that you need to be careful when you register your activity with the maison des impots (tax office) there are several different regimes which, as an artist you can register. So, don't, don't,do anything drastic just yet. I,ve got a french friend, who made the mistake and she wasn't able to change the regime for a year, so consequently, had to pay under that regime for two years. [:(] I will update you on this and can help no doubt if you wish. As with all paperwork in france, it's a nightmare.[+o(]

[artsole]

Hi Meg, (and any other artists interested)

After you have registered with the MDA you need to get your N° SIRET at the maison des impots.  You need to register for the régime d'imposition:  'Bénéfices non commerciaux' and the 'régime de la déclaration contrôlée'.  It is imperitive you don't register with URSAFF because the cotisations are extortionate. It is difficult to explain the ins and outs of this but if you do need further explaination I will make a large effort to do so! happy painting/sculpting/or what ever else gets you going![geek]

[Meg]

Cheers Artsole...got that noted....i have now spent the last hour under a swamp of MDA windows.........[blink] 

Hopefully it'll all start to make some sense soon!!

[:)]

[pamss]

Hi Artsole,

Coincidentally just 2 days ago I was given your name by someone from another forum, as being someone who knows about things like MDA.  So maybe I can add my query too if you guys don't mind.

We're English, but lived in Greece for 6 years prior to coming to France last November.  Peter, my partner, is the painter and he earned his living from that in Greece.  Unfortunately, due to bad advice from his accountant there he didn't pay his self employed contributions in 2007 so had no E106 when we came here.  He has done the biz at the Hotel des Impots, got his siren and siret numbers, registered with the MDA and been given a reference number by them.  So far so good.  But, how do we get him into the social security system?  It seems he has to have a social security number but how does he get that?  We've been to the CPAM and they have tried to be helpful but we keep coming up against brick walls.

I am covered and have my carte vitale as I'd paid all my contributions in Greece but I can't have him added to my card because of his not having paid contribs in 2007.  In Greece he was paying about 160 euro a month into their system for health and pension and was fully expecting to do the same thing here.  He's more than happy to pay but we can't figure out what to do.  I'm a bit nervous in case he needs any health care as he's not insured (yes, I know that we're being a bit stupid on that one).  We made enquiries about getting private health insurance but even that seems difficult as we can't find a French insurance who will offer full cover, just the complementaire.

By the way, for registering with the MDA we just printed a form they had on-line and sent it with an invoice for a painting that he'd sold.  They wrote back with a reference number but they also are asking for his social security number. When he first registered at the Hotel des Impots we (I keep saying 'we' as he's not the French speaker in the partnership!) asked about social security and the offical told us it would all happen automatically.

Like Meg, all Peter wants to do is paint and be legal - it's a bit frustrating at the moment.  Any help/advice you can give will be very gratefully received.

 

Merci mille fois.

Pam

 

 

[artsole]

yea! ok[;-)]

[pamss]

ca veut dire quoi? vous n'avez pas d'avis?

[Dantes mum]

Hello - and in advance, apologies if this is something you have answered before, in one form or another.  Having read your various posts, does this mean that registering with the MDA is the first step to becoming a self-employed artist, who then presumably pays cotisations to the health system etc.?  Again, this is me being naive, but why would it be that registering with URSAFF to do this would result in much higher charges?  My husband is a painter who wants to register here in France but the amount of conflicting advice we have been given is baffling.  He is away at present and I am trying to get my head around it all.  Thank you for any assistance you can give. 

[raindog]

Dante's mum - i've pmed you.