euro savings account - interest rates?

[fledermaus]

Can anyone recommend a euro savings account with a decent interest rate in France?

I had a look at ING, and am not sure what the following refers to:

Prélèvement libératoire it is a oui/non radio button, on the application form - anyone familiar with this??

 

[Missy]

[quote]Can anyone recommend a euro savings account with a decent interest rate in France? I had a look at ING, and am not sure what the following refers to: Prélèvement libératoire it is a oui/non radio b...[/quote]

A Prélèvement is when who ever has a bill on you, will ask you for your current account bank details and every month or so they will take the agreed amount needing paying. A bit like a Standing Order.

Libératoire?... Possibly freeing you from any worries of 'has it been paid?'

I could not tell you without a better translating dictionary and or seeing the actual context of the matter.

Interest rates?... In France pretty poor if you want to save! (Caisse d'Epargne livret A is currently I think at 2.5%) but if you need to spend, spend it's very cheap!

Another cheap thing to do at the moment is to buy lots of Euros with your £UK... This morning (21/6/05) the BBC Radio 4 business section quoted a rate of 1€ = 66.6p!! Only 4 weeks or so ago it was 1€ = 69.7p....

Just when I had my hols at home (France) with all my folks!.. Boohoo!!

Really trawl through the internet and watch all the adverts you can possibly see as you walk pass banks!

Best of luck!

[fledermaus]

Thanks alot for the info, that makes sense, as I think it relates to the automatic deduction of interest (similar to how things work with interest on accounts in the UK I guess).

This is the context:

"Prélèvement libératoire

Épargne Orange
Si vous êtes résident français, les intérêts de votre compte Épargne Orange sont soumis:

	- soit à l'impôt sur le revenu majoré de 11 % de prélèvements sociaux ( case IRPP sur le formulaire d'ouverture de compte)
	- soit au prélèvement libératoire au taux de 16% +11 % au titre des prélèvements sociaux (case PLF sur le formulaire d'ouverture de compte)

Vous pouvez changer librement d'option fiscale en cours d'année, tant que les intérêts n'ont pas été payés (avant le 31 décembre).

A défaut, c'est le Prélèvement Libératoire Forfaitaire qui sera sélectionné.

Compte Titres

A la place du barème progressif de l'impôt sur le revenu, vous pouvez choisir le prélèvement libératoire sur les produits à revenu fixe que vous détenez en portefeuille.

Pour un compte titres, le taux du prélèvement libératoire sur les obligations est de 16% (27 % avec les prélèvements sociaux)."

 

I don't really understand this, unfortunately. And do you know if you have to pay tax on savings, regardless of income, or is there any exemption, as in the UK??

 

 

[LesLauriers]

I don't really understand this, unfortunately. And do you know if you have to pay tax on savings, regardless of income, or is there any exemption, as in the UK??

All, worldwide, unearned, income is subject 11% social charges regardless of income, income tax rates then apply after allowances.

You can save 4600€ in a Codevi or 15300€ in a Livret A both of which are tax and social charge free but only pay 2.25% interest.

There is another savings account paying a higher rate (4%?) but this is only available to people with a very low tax bill and again is limited to how much you can invest.

[Ron Avery]

Not all savings accounts are taxable Les,  my CA savings account is exempt from French income tax, I just take a letter from CA to the bank each year with my statement of Impots and they do the rest,  Interest rate not up to much though, about 3.5%,  like most French savings accounts it would seem.

[LesLauriers]

You are quite right Ron, not all accounts are subject to tax and social charges, I clearly worded the post badly.

As I said, the Codevi & Livret A (orB) are both free of charges as is the the other account mentioned, which you have, that I believe is the LEP, Livret D'epargne Populaire.

All of these accounts restrict the amount you can invest and in the case of the LEP it is only available to people with an income tax demand of less than 684€, which is probably why you have to show your tax statement each year. The maximum an individual can deposit is 7700€ and the rate is around 3.25% currently.

There are other savings accounts linked to buying a house but again restrictive.

The only savings account I have found worthwhile is under the wrapper of an Assurance Vie but, whilst you can invest what you want, there are still lots of conditions attached albeit at a higher interest rate of around 4.5% depending upon who you place your investment with. These are subject to tax and social charges but are treated advantageously, however it is more of a long term vehicle for savings & investments.

As with any financial investments it all depends upon your personal circumstances. All of these "tax free" accounts are subject to wealth tax, where applicable, which in a way contradicts their tax free status.

After you have your Livret, Codevi and where possible LEP, the ING account is probably the best account for every day savings.