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Thanks for that; a useful site I imagine.

MK15, is that Willen? Nice area (away from the motorway), but I should think France is nicer. We spend 2-3 months in each location; Currently in the Ariège. Fortunately no civil disobedience here (yet).

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Yes - MK15 was Willen - it was very nice there.  Also lived in Bletchley, Hanslope, Neath Hill, Giffard Park, Little Woolstone, but not in that order.  Now living in Correze (19).  Lots of strike action here as we have a company called Sicam whose employees like marching through our local town of Pompadour whenever there is strike action.   Usually escorted by a very relaxed bunch of gendarmes on horseback and on foot, having a chat with the strikers and smoking a fag.  We've just sold our house and are moving 15 mins up the road to St Bonnet La Riviere.  We've been here six and a bit years now.

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[quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Not sure what more strikes are going to do now the bill is passed. Think it's going to be just toys being chucked out of prams and I can see a lot of jobs being lost over this.

And why are they striking on a Saturday? That seems really bizarre. Must be a good reason for it though.[/quote]

Worth perhaps recalling that an earlier bill was passed: and reversed, due to its unpopularity.

Same with the Poll Tax.

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[quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Didn't know that. What happened with the poll tax? Thought they only renamed it to something else.[/quote]

The poll tax was a tax on individuals in a household, council tax or rates is a tax on property. We loved the poll tax as the kids had left home and our contributions to the council went down, when they dropped the poll tax and resumed with a rateable value our contributions increased. To rub salt into our wounds our kids were demonstrating on the streets against the poll tax. The ungrateful little gits [:D]

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[quote user="Gluestick"][quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Not sure what more strikes are going to do now the bill is passed. Think it's going to be just toys being chucked out of prams and I can see a lot of jobs being lost over this. And why are they striking on a Saturday? That seems really bizarre. Must be a good reason for it though.[/quote]

Worth perhaps recalling that an earlier bill was passed: and reversed, due to its unpopularity.


[/quote]

Yes, and it was called the CPE ( Contrat Première Embauche.)

Huge demonstrations even after the bill was voted in the Assemblée Nationale and the Sénat..

It was reversed. Good  !

 

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Even if they do reverse this bill, they will still have to bring in another bill and have people retiring later than they are now, it is inevitable now the general population lives longer.

Michel Drucker made a wonderful documentary many years ago about 'the future' and how he imagined pensioners would react to what would inevitably happen. Until then I had not thought much of Michel Drucker, but, that program really made me rethink and I have had a lot of respect for him since.

Incidentally, it isn't just the pension age that this government have been up to recently. We have been hard hit by a lot of the Sarko laws.

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[quote user="idun"]Incidentally, it isn't just the pension age that this government have been up to recently. We have been hard hit by a lot of the Sarko laws.[/quote]

And for us it has been the health reform re private insurance - can't move permanently to France until I am 65 in 2017 - thankfully that nice Mr Cameron did not change the pension age to 66 in 2016 as he originally said.

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I did say in another thread there were some nasty new laws passed last week while nobody was watching, some of which will effect those inactives that are on the old system of paying a percentage of their annual income to CPAM. There is a 5% lift in tax on unearned income. Those French that get laid off due to the reforms may also have a shock at the level at which tax is now paid on their redundancy money. If you hunt around on the French paper websites you will find more, I read about it in 'Le Figaro'.
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[quote user="NickP"]The poll tax was a tax on individuals in a household, council tax or rates is a tax on property. We loved the poll tax as the kids had left home and our contributions to the council went down, when they dropped the poll tax and resumed with a rateable value our contributions increased. To rub salt into our wounds our kids were demonstrating on the streets against the poll tax. The ungrateful little gits [:D][/quote]Here here, one of the best ideas Maggie's government had but unfortunately they didn't have the spunk to see it through.

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Agreed. The poll tax was a far fairer system than the old rating system in that everyone would pay for their own use of services rather than the home-owners taking the entire hit. Not surprising that the majority of the protesters against it were young people who thought society owed them a living.
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Quillan, I already knew about the increases in taxation on various 'benefits'. Not just tax but cotisations too. As non residents we will be hit hard, very hard. Our situation is 'unusal' and I am going to contest some of the things that are going to happen, but battling the URSSAF, I suspect will be a battle too far.
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[quote user="Etoile"]Agreed. The poll tax was a far fairer system than the old rating system in that everyone would pay for their own use of services rather than the home-owners taking the entire hit. Not surprising that the majority of the protesters against it were young people who thought society owed them a living.[/quote]

I wish!

Local authorities, under Thatcher's reorganisation, were thereafter constrained to "Bid" for funding from central government.

Obviously, you haven't examined the punitive cost of UBR (Business Rates): one anomaly (Amongst many!) being that despite paying vastly more than a householder, commercial premises have to pay again for such as waste removal.

In any case, rightly or wrongly, taxes, in their modern incarnation are set on the basis that the greater one earns, then the more one pays: paying just the cost of services one consumes fails to enter the dynamic.

Unless, of course, one is happily amongst the increasing number of Ex Pat tax avoiders....................

[Www]

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[quote user="idun"]Quillan, I already knew about the increases in taxation on various 'benefits'. Not just tax but cotisations too. As non residents we will be hit hard, very hard. Our situation is 'unusal' and I am going to contest some of the things that are going to happen, but battling the URSSAF, I suspect will be a battle too far.[/quote]

You must be one of the few as it seems most here are totally oblivious as it would seem are a lot of French. Still never mind, they have been told now so I doubt they will do much shouting when it all starts 'clicking' in to place. I was trying to think of the (UK) person who said 'it was a good day to break bad news', in France at the moment it would seem an excellent time to get a few 'bad news' bills through while nobody is looking.

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Gluestick wrote:

Obviously, you haven't examined the punitive cost of UBR (Business Rates): one anomaly (Amongst many!) being that despite paying vastly more than a householder, commercial premises have to pay again for such as waste removal.


I don't think most ordinary householders think too much about business rates, but you must remember that we pay toward them when we purchase something from the shop. As for paying extra for waste removal, why not? commercial premises produce huge amounts of waste in comparison to an ordinary household.

In any case, rightly or wrongly, taxes, in their modern incarnation are set on the basis that the greater one earns, then the more one pays: paying just the cost of services one consumes fails to enter the dynamic.

The subject under discussion was council tax or rates not tax on earnings, but as you brought it up; the ones who earn most usually employ  accountants to enable them to avoid taxes [Www] remember Mr Spam

Unless, of course, one is happily amongst the increasing number of Ex Pat tax avoiders...................

Like any other person who pays their way correctly I don't like tax avoiders, but you don't have to be an ex pat to avoid taxes, surely it's not beyond the governments capabilities to stop it, or maybe that would be shooting  their own pals in the foot.[:D]

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NickP wrote:

[quote] I don't think most ordinary householders think too much about business rates, but you must remember that we pay toward them when we purchase something from the shop. As for paying extra for waste removal, why not? commercial premises produce huge amounts of waste in comparison to an ordinary household.[/quote]

Strange offices you must have worked in...........

I responded to this comment: if you care to re-read earlier in the thread.

[quote]The poll tax was a far fairer system than the old rating system in that

everyone would pay for their own use of services rather than the

home-owners taking the entire hit.[/quote]

Now, if you consider the realities, not many businesses I know need the support of Social Services, take the office or factory dog for a stroll in the park, require Housing Benefit, Children's Services, Births Deaths and Marriages, Vote (Electoral Registrar), consume Leisure, Culture and Tourism, and etc.

[quote]The subject under discussion was council tax or rates not tax on earnings, but as you brought it up; the ones who earn most usually employ  accountants to enable them to avoid taxes [Www] remember Mr Spam[/quote]

Errr,.....no. It was the claimed "Fairness" of Poll Tax against Council Tax. See above: again.

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