A long time ago I wrote a post about the kind of jobs that expats in France do or might consider doing to help make ends meet (see expat work in France). But times and ideas move on and recessions turn up unexpectedly so I thought I’d suggest a different idea. This is something I [...]
Nobody has called me yet to ask if I would like to contribute my share of the next 100 billion euro bailout fund, must be a problem with the answering machine perhaps. Still, just in case M. Sarkozy et Mme Merkel are reading this in a tea break at the ‘Hey, lets save the euro [...]
Good news for anyone who has a second home in France and is worried they aren’t doing enough to help the French economy – you’re about to start! As part of the proposed budget changes in France it is planned that capital gains tax will be payable on any gain you make when you come [...]
It’s a well known fact (among those who have never done it) that people who move to France have two choices: 1) sit around in the sun drinking too much until the money runs out, or 2) start a business, work hard for a few years, watch as the business fails under the terrible weight [...]
It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned URSSAF – the agency that collects payments for social contributions (National Insurance) in France – and probably won’t be the last, but this is a story that exceeds even my low expectations so I thought I’d share it. The tale begins in November 2010, when we had received [...]
Ah yes, New Years Resolutions, how quickly they get forgotten! In these hard times we have racked our brains and shaken our piggy bank to think of the easiest way possible for all of us (both francethisway ourselves and visitors to the francethisway site) to help those less fortunate than ourselves – and you don’t [...]
An interesting survey came out recently (copy at global corruption barometer) that compared corruption in various countries around the world. Of course France and the UK are the countries most interesting to me but some of the other results were surprising as well – and others more predictable. My general perception has always been that [...]
The Loi Madelin – a French personal pension scheme – will be completely uninteresting to lots of people, but to those affected it might just save a lot of money. So I’ll tell you what I know about it just in case you are someone who might benefit… Broadly speaking, the Loi Madelin allows self-employed [...]
The French, as all expats quickly come to realise, like to make anything to do with paperwork more complicated than it need be, and whether it’s a Taxe d’Habitation bill, an invoice from URSSAF, or a payslip from an employer the main goal is to make sure that you haven’t got any idea how the [...]
We seem to get an increasing number of of odd phone calls, best described as the equivalent of spam emails, which usually start with a recorded message saying something like ‘Boris, you have missed a very important message – please press * to listen’ only to then have to listen to a recorded message starting [...]
One of the challenges of living in one country and having money in another is the need to send money between countries at the best possible rate – both best exchange rate and lowest bank or transfer charges. This problem affects many Brits in France who are, for example, buying property in France with the [...]
Got a bit of Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket? Like to do your bit for the environment? Take a look through the following bulletin I just received about the chance to own your very own truffle oak in the Dordogne – might just get you fresh truffles in the years to come [...]
Here is the translated transcript of a phonecall I just had from URSSAF, the body responsible for collecting social contributions in France. URSSAF: Hello Boris, can you tell me why you have sent us a cheque for 2540 euros? Me: Because you sent me a bill for 2540 euros and you charge me penalties if [...]
I just received this press release about pension rights for UK expats in France. I’m not fit to comment on it myself but it looks to contain important information about the age changes that come into effect next year so I thought I’d spread the word. Hope it’s useful for somebody, the entire release is [...]
I’m not an expert on French business structures and setup but I have been through the process of starting and running a SARL for the last 16 months and thought a few comments might be useful to someone. Bear on mind that you will always need legal advice before choosing a business structure in France, [...]