Franchesco Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 My partner and I will move to the Var in September/October time. We need really good tax advice can anyone recommend a Scottish based expert or someone else who can help. Web are both employed by my business here in the Uk. My partner will work entirely from our new home in France while I will work from home too but will regularly return to the UK to deliver my products to Uk based clients.Our office will be in Scotland employing some uk based staff however the business is owned by myself and we will reside in France. I suppose I am thinking we can pay taxes as residents in France but as employees of a Uk company and of course pay taxes for the cuisines in the Uk. It seems a real challenge to get facts so far. Can anyone help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Not being rude but why don't you ask your accountant in the UK this question? I doubt anyone on here has the knowledge to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franchesco Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 Thanks for taking the time to reply, I am sure you are not being rude.My accountant does not have the knowledge and given some of the other inputs to this forum it seemed like a decent question to ask. Other forum members have indicated they had issues with finding good tax advice in the UK regarding complicated situations like ours. I do have contacts in Nice who I am sure can help but it would be nice to have a more local contact here prior to going out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pangur Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 I can't help with a Scottish contact, but the following info might help...My husband is working in France, as the employee of a UK company, and we are in the middle of sorting out the paperwork. He will be a legal representatvie of the company in France and will pay French social insurance using Article L243-1-2 of the Social Security code. While looking for info to give the UK company, I came across this site. No idea if they are any good or not, but you might find some useful information or contacts on the site?http://www.intertax.org/index_en.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 [quote]Thanks for taking the time to reply, I am sure you are not being rude.My accountant does not have the knowledge and given some of the other inputs to this forum it seemed like a decent question to ask...[/quote]"Our office will be in Scotland employing some uk based staff however the business is owned by myself and we will reside in France."But surely Francesco, your accountant will have to find out the company's and your tax situation if you are still going to be registered as a company in the UK The point was that perhaps your accountant should earn his fees and find out for you.A simple answer to your personal situation is that all income you receive while resident in France has to be declared to the French, whether or not it has been subject to tax elsewhere. If you do not make a declaration in France it makes it very difficult to get into the health system, which could be a real problem when your E 106 runs out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clareS Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 We are in a similar situation to Franchesco. We have been living here since August and working for our own limited company which is based in the UK, though we are the only employees. We have a house in the UK still and work entirely for UK clients. We went to see an accountant here in France this morning, as we would like to think about buying property here (we are currently renting). He was not much use, started off by saying it was fine to go on paying tax in Uk, as we are entirely UK-based (just happen to live here), then suddenly changed his tune and said he thought if we want to buy a house we should move the company to france and set up a SARL, or the French tax authorities might catch up with us. We don't really want to set up a French company as we have a uk accountant and are happy with the set-up we have. If we have to set up a SARL then we will, but I'd like to know why and what the regulations are that make this necessary (rather than just because we are told 'it would be a good idea' ...). It's very difficult to get any information.Our UK accountant and the inland revenue say that we can remain ordinarily resident in the UK for up to 3 years and pay tax in the UK. However, that's not much use if the French authorities think otherwise .... our E106 certificate will run out in August ...I'll have a look at that website someone mentioned. Any other tips gratefully received! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 The crunch is where you physically are while you are doing the work for your business. If you are in UK, you can pay tax etc in UK. If your bums are on seats in France, regardless of who you are doing the work for or what currency you are paid in, you are taxed in France. Residency and domicile come into it to a certain extent, but that too is opening up cans of worms as different countries have different rules. This, as we have pointed out before, can mean you are tax resident in two or more different places, and, if there is a dual taxation agreement, this can work to your advantage.EU guidelines are supposed to permit free movement of labour, but Brussels hands the interpretation of its guidelines to the individual member states. A lot depends on the nature of your work. For example, if its something that demands compulsory insurance, which applies to a lot of businesses in France, you will almost certainly need to go to a French insurer to provide the right extent of cover, and the French insurer will want your business to be registered in France before a policy can be issued. So EU provisions effectively count for nothing if you can't get the insurance you need to carry out the work.Tax is less of an issue than social security and health care. If you are outside the French system, you have to either pretend to be a visitor if you need medical attention (dodgy, to say the least) or pay full whack yourself. If you qualify for a suitable E form (not E111) you can join the system for a limited time, which allows you to gradually come out of UK tax residency. In practical terms the period is more like two years than three.It gets very complicated, and accountants often think they have the right answer but then find out that it's less simple than they thought at first. And in the end it comes down to the fact that setting up a business properly in France is the only really clean, legal, way of doing things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clareS Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Thanks very much for the advice, it tallies with bits and pieces I've read elsewhere, but it's good to have it confirmed so concisely! I think at some stage before long we'll have to bite the bullet.There is a useful document (pdf) on the French tax website which details in English what the basic guidelines are on various areas of taxation, residency etc., in case any one else needs similar information.http://www.impots.gouv.fr/portal/deploiement/p1/fichedescriptive_1006/fichedescriptive_1006.pdfThanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 On a similar but not quite the same vein, We have a house in 46 as a maison secondaire and we will be visiting frequently (we don't work) but not intending to become full time French resident. I read somewhere that as long as you are not in France for more than 6 months of any one (calendar?) year you are okay but over 6 months and the French government treats you as French resident.Anybody any ideas on how that works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesLauriers Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 After 6 months you pay tax, social charges, health charges and wealth tax! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Do you know if that is 6 months in any one calendar year, fiscal year or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesLauriers Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Some books state "contiguous days" other's state tax year.However, if you try to find two tax officers, in France, who can agree on which day of the week it actually is, today, then you'll be doing well!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourangelle Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 [quote]Do you know if that is 6 months in any one calendar year, fiscal year or what?[/quote]I think the calendar year and the tax year are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesLauriers Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 They are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted June 5, 2005 Share Posted June 5, 2005 ...are they? Well that at least is an improvement over the British scheme...thanks everybody for the help, we're off this morning for another jolly 5 weeks in 46...oh the blue skies, the croissants, the french cigarettes begin lit up in non fumer bars etc etc....ttfn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franchesco Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 Hi We have been out in the Var for a week and are just back. We found the home of our dreams and have signed the Compris de vente and all going well move out in September. Still we get conflicting advice even there so we are still open to advice. Thanks for the interest to date, as new forum member it is encouraging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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