alicejuliet

Hello,

We are a family with a teenage daughter and five year old son. Both of us are artists with online galleries and are self employed. We are thinking of moving to southern France and have a nice house here in the countryside in Sussex, but I crave the sunshine and love France. I speak fluent French. I sell reprints of my art work here and online so I can work anywhere and France also appeals to me as I would like to sell my art prints in the markets in France several times a week.. The thing is, we don't make that much money, and the government here helps us out if we don't have a good year with the working family tax credits system. I wonder if a similar thing exists in France???? I want to continue to work and be a sole trader etc, but I am worried about leaving the security of the English system.....I wonder if anyone could advise? Thank you x

treskillard

I don't think there's anything as generous as the family/working tax credit system. Self employment is a nightmare in France - be warned - loads of posts about it - really be warned about this - expensive and difficult to avoid. However, if you can prove you are professional artists with incomes to prove it you can benifit from very good health care and low tax bands for self employment. Others will be better informed than me as I'm out of date with it all. However - overall I'd be careful about leaving the security of the UK for France if you are counting tax credits as part of your income. Of course many benifits here in other ways but not financial - apart the property lark. Good luck.

Ka Ora!

There is a reduced Tax System in France for registered Artists I forget the name of it but it does go beyond the Artisan System giving better options and lower repayments in Tax nothing like being a sole trader, However as to the government helping you if you have a bad year France is certainly not as an enjoyable climate as the UK in that regard as a person or pair of adults with no paid up contributions in France you would not get so much. Two Children gets you about 300 Euros a month in French Child benefit (I Forget the Exact Figure and the OH is out at the mo) Camping money for the summer hols for them Low income gets you reduced Household taxes. And a few but little benefits in the System.

No Tax Credit System in France it's a system that only encourages one to work for someone else, The UK is the softest country in the EU hence all the immigrants that flock there.

Nibbler

Best of luck

alicejuliet

Thank you so much for those helpful replies! I had thought as much.... There is a security about the UK for self employed people which is hard to leave. Doesn't totally put me off though. Thank you again..x

Ka Ora!

Your most welcome, Please call again

treskillard

Ka Ora has three artists in residence, well captivity rather, at his place. He's very generous with what he calls euphemistically "his taxes".

L'Acajou

[
No Tax Credit System in France it's a system that only encourages one to work for someone else, The UK is the softest country in the EU hence all the immigrants that flock there.[/QUOTE]

Yup, I used to be an adjudication officer for Tax Credit, without doubt the worst job I ever had. , then I went on maternity leave (childbirth being a more pleasant option than working there), then a career break so claimed what was then Family Credit myself - I can confirm that France is nowhere near as generous as the UK.

Sue

alicejuliet

Thanks Sue,

Fair enough...I thought it would be that way! xx

Francis Home

But have you guys taken the new 'Micro entreprise' advantages into account for small businesses - you only pay NI if you have turnover but you have cover all the same, you don't charge VAT (conversely you can't claim it back either!), no income tax as such, just tax paid on turnover after a deduction of 71% for someone selling goods such as art, as opposed to services (50% reduction before tax applies)...

Thinking of doing this myself, but haven't gone into all the fine print yet.

Having kids under age brings in something like 200 euros I think not 300. Not sure about that again.

Still, I thought the French social safety net stood up rather well against the UK equivalent, all things considered.

treskillard

Good point Frances. The child allowance is much more generous. These are figures I just found:
Le montant de base des allocations familiales est fixé à :
- 119,13 €/mois pour 2 enfants ;
- 271,75 €/mois pour 3 enfants ;
- 152,63 €/mois pour chaque enfant supplémentaire.

En outre, la majoration est de :
- 33,51 € pour les enfants de 11 à 16 ans ;
- 59,57 € pour les enfants de 16 à 20 ans

So that's 120 euros a month for two children. 153 euros if one is over 11. 180 euros if one is over 16.

L'Acajou

We have four children, eldest is 12, we receive about 635 € per month - I think this includes an extra amount because we aren't making any money or paying tax yet!! Ours is not a micro enterprise, we are TVA registered and have a Siret number. I understand that you don't get anything for the first child... although the renrée money is paid on all four, essential with the amount of stuff we have to buy for school

dmu

You should check on all the municipal rules and regulations (not to mention the "rent") concerning setting up a stand in French markets. They probably differ from town to town, but make a search on this Forum (top right-hand corner) among past threads on the subject, and you'll find info from those who have done it.

alicejuliet

Wow loads of info, thanks guys.

The idea I have is to sell my art work in markets in France. I read an article about it. There is no equivalent to the French market here in the UK.

Except farmer's markets, which I am about to try out. See if it works here first, but ideally I would like to be doing it in France.