idun

 As we have to do self assessment, and only pay twice a year, I have already started putting away extra for extra income tax. I am expecting this. One way or another, the government will need more money from the people, well those who pay that is. Sure the very rich and corporate like affairs, will wriggle out of the increases somehow..... I would love to be wrong about this though!

If you want to see how much income tax you might pay go onto 'listentotaxman.com'.

I was wondering a couple of things:- How do you know it was lightening that did for your system? And did the technician mention that on your bill?

 Our council taxes are around the same as they were in France, accepting that things have changed in this regard since we left. Income tax is higher in the UK. With regards to other costs, people use differing amounts of gas/electric/water so comparing is difficult. Even with how we use our other things like tv's, mobiles and the internet also vary. With brexit, remember that[Www], I keep wondering if we would be better off moving back, but I would say we would not. Ofcourse we would have to start paying CSG etc etc and our health top up and they would be costly for us, and cost more than those bills like income tax that we pay at the moment. Also, for the time being we have free prescriptions and bus passes and as we went for town living use them a lot. Things ofcourse could change, because the government willhave to rake money back in, but so far, appreciated. So hard to say wooly, also remember I live in the NE and things can be cheaper here, so yes, we are better off in the UK. A good friend in France, and they are by no means 'poor' moans a lot about french prices and never ceases to tell me how much things have gone up since we left. I should ask other friends too, but I keep forgetting.[blink]  

This is really really good. Getting properties sorted is a very very good idea. Noisy, well, that is simply what happens isn't it. At least you don't live in an appt, if all your neighbours were doing their bricolage, then it would be REALLY noisy.  In our first year, we could tell which of our neighbours in our various appartments were well off or poor. Some used hammers all the time, and others had electric drills.[:D]

Oh NH is that local to you? I don't understand why people don't get that this hasn't gone away. Folk are very very strange....... and I thought I was, and probably am......I just seem to have a lot of good old fashioned common sense! And here is something to look forward to later this year, apart from perhaps a 'second' wave of Covid 19.... a new swine flu that the chinese have found.[Www] 

I am an awfully long way from the Midlands or Bournemouth, and frankly IF I had my way, I would have had a permanent mark put on everyone's forehead as they were leaving that beach, young / old and inbetween, don't care, and if they turn up a hospital with that mark, just send them home. That they don't care about their own health is their choice that they are acting like  those rats in during the black death, is quite another...... Their choice, let them get on with it......... this is not a health/addiction problem either, like smoking, or drugs or drink..... sale narcissists the lot of 'em. Am I mad about this...... you bet I am. Will I be travelling, not yet, things will need to be a lot different before I am.

Let's face it even the great Arthur Conan Doyle believed in such things, a great exponent of spiritualism, and was even taken in by those naughty yorkshire lasses with their 'fairy' photo. No accounting for what some folk are prepared to believe, makes no sense to me. There again, thinking about it, I would rather this than those who 'believe' in the current potus! But that is just me[Www]

OK, my question answered.

OK I will bite, what is 'animal communication' and how does the cat 'reply'? Never expected to be asking such  questions[blink]

Oh please please, not 110kph, I feel it is a dangerous mind numbing speed and likely to induce drowsiness on a very long journey. I stick to it in the UK, because I have to, and am fully aware of how it affects me, and I am pretty sure it must affect others in the same way. ps I would be very happy to have speed limits reduced in built up areas, that is OK with me, just not 'autoroutes'.

I have been doing plenty of other things, but sometimes I just like some good tv. I have four books, as I say, 'on the go' at the moment. I have read and read and sudoku'd and sudoku'd, so, A LOT. Strangely, I have been on the computer less in general apart from little articles that pop up. We have netflix, but we haven't watched it, started The Irishman, that was about 10 weeks ago...... and managed half an hour and realised that we would have to do some planning if we are going to watch the other 2.5 hours. IF! I was brought up with endless sport.

Here are a couple of definitions of that word SPORT; an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. a person who behaves in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation Trouble is that the word 'obsession' is not mentioned, because it has been bad enough during the lock down, in spite of nothing being played, there has been a lot on, and it has been mentioned far too much on the news...... for me it is not news,  and I am not interested! So that obviously makes me a 'bad' sport, because my goodness, I feel really defeated tonight, rotten Match of the Day on, starting really early.......... and nothing of interest on tv, although I do find weekends often 'dire' anyway. Is sport just the primitive brain in action, modern tribalism, a need in some, well apparently many, to see battle commence and hopefully see their side win and the other defeated. How is that for being evolved, I think that is called, basking in reflective glory, when one is backing the winning side. To be polite, I am pretty 'fed up' tonight. I have an awful feeling that 'sports' fans will be pandered to for some considerable time, as some sort of what, compensation. And yet it really does not feel as if non sports followers were well catered for during lock down. Whinge over! ps who follows sports most, men or women...... any ideas?

I don't think that S1's are any longer a foregone conclusion with regards to health care. They were dished out and then that stopped, for say, early retirees, a few years ago. https://contactcentreservices.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/selfnhsukokb/AskUs_EHIC/en-gb/5061/general-ohs-information/22824/what-exportable-benefits-allow-someone-to-apply-for-an-s1 As it says, 'potentially' exportable. I think that the OP was unclear and left me confused, when they said that they worked in the UK but were a french tax payer, well tax resident, but I don't know what that means either:- they said:I (British but French tax resident) recently lost my job working for a UK firm in the UK and am now back home in France.

Is your health care sorted out? As I said, your situation seems very complicated and I cannot quite get my head around how you avoided paying in the UK when you lived and worked there. ie not paying UK income tax, and the NIC's? you didn't say. When we left France, and became UK residents, with a french salary on gardening leave for several years it was all the same to the french if there was work done or not, it was a salary, treat as such so we HAD to pay SS payments, all of them, including chomage in France and french income tax, which even those years ago was done as a type of PAYE, retenue a la source, it was called and still exists in this form for non residents. I questioned URSSAF about the chomage bit, but was told, tough, it had become a solidarity payment, so we had to accept that. Our UK health care was via an S form from France and as they were slow in sending it, I had Newcastle calling regularly, very annoyed to be honest. Please remember this was all pre brexit, with so called 'free' movement. Also, in your case, would you have an entitlement to Job Seekers allowance? If you have savings of over £16k you don't get it either. My thought is get a job. I still don't understand why claiming seems to be more of a priority than working. https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/unemployment-and-benefits/transferring-unemployment-benefits/index_en.htm This looks like if you wanted to claim, you had to do it in the UK. No one just gets chomage in France, ie a young person living at home won't get it, I think that the RSA may kick in for the very poor, but ordinary chomage needs the following. https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A13527 Durée minimale de travail Pour avoir droit au chômage, il faudra avoir travaillé 130 jours (910 heures soit 6 mois) sur les 24 derniers mois (contre 4 mois sur les 28 derniers mois jusqu'à présent).

You situation is indeed strange, where where you paying your NIC's? Everything I have read, says that you should have signed on in the UK first. Then transfer it. I have read that both on the UK site and the french site. I suppose I do not understand your fiscal situation, as when we initially left France with a french salary, it had to be taxed in France and then declared in the UK when we did our returns here. No work was being done, I believe it is called 'gardening leave'. I know enough french people who have  done things wrongly and lost out on 'benefits' they should have had, including proper employment contracts. This due to timing, timing is very important in France.

A good friend in France who is by no means poor, complains all the time about the prices these days. And cheap houses, now that is  quite a different thing. How many pages do you want on that. And the difference between the politics of Mitterand and Thatcher etc etc.

Prices vary all over the EU, not just between France and the UK. A friend of ours still recounts when they had bought an article of clothing for their spouse's  xmas present. The label from one of the big brand and very nice clothing companies had a 20€ difference between France and German on it. Germany being cheaper. Our friends live in France, they were not impressed.

When we lived in France we often had letters from banks etc posted from all over the place, including Germany. Did it make any difference to the time scale of delivery, well, La Poste usually went from poor to a disgrace. We were on the border with another department and our son went to college across the border. 18kms away and letters, prioritaire, from the college would take 10 days. Hence we missed school meetings etc, as they only sent them out a week in advance.

https://uk.ambafrance.org/Le-retour-en-France-12102#Chomage That link should be live. Had you read it before you left the UK? No idea how it works, and if you have left  the UK, as to whether you will have forfeited any rights. Also, chomage is not simply 'given' in France, people have to have worked for a certain period of time to get it, and in your case it would seem that you would need paper work from the UK to prove lots of things, and maybe even to get your health care in France? Sounds like your case is complicated.

And what difference would it have made if I had been in France or living in France? None, it is still the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and DeGaulle did not like the UK. Having seen the news since I posted, the visit was because Macron was honouring DeGaulle's broadcast.

Well, we have just watched the news and husband said, Macron is here for Waterloo Day.... We did ofcourse see that De Gaulle was mentioned too..... great fan of the UK he wasn't![blink]

I don't think I quite understand this question. If you rent out your UK property then UK taxes will have to be paid, after your tax allowance ofcourse. Re France, well, you will have to  register to pay taxes in France, if not pensioners with S1's, then I would assume that you would have to prove health care and probably income, but how this will play out what with brexit, well, some things seem to be speculation at the moment.

So people 'jure sur l'honneur' and that's it[:@] People lie, don't the authorities realise that people lie. Well, to me it is most unsatisfactory. Just because there seems to be an air of complacency, doesn't mean that the tenacious covid has gone away.

Won't the pension people automatically take UK tax off a percentage of the amount. I say this, as I had a tiny pension, which was paid in full, and when I say tiny, it was less than £200 and I still had tax to pay, which I got back later.