bigglesworth

Luciole

The French Tax authorities are more Beatles fans

"Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman."

EuroTrash

Seriously - I don't think the French have ever tried to pretend that tax is anything other than taxing; the best you can expect is to be treated fairly. The annual tax declaration is taken very seriously indeed. My neighbours have retired now and spend most of their time at their holiday home in the south of France, but every April they come back for the sole purpose of making their tax declaration from their residence principale (well they have so far, maybe they will eventually start doing it online). The system is based on 'droits et devoirs' - rights and responsibilities. The state offers you a bargain: you play fair with us, declare everything and pay your taxes, and we'll play fair with you and give you back whatever rebates and benefits you are entitled to. If you don't play nicely, don't expect us to.

That said, when you go to the tax office the people themselves couldn't be more helpful and friendly (most of them).

Peabrain

This whole, interesting thread just goes to show that tax 'avoidance' is best left to the Googles, Amazons and Starbucks of this world, with their armies of accountants and tax lawyers. Of course they can't use friends to help them, as they haven't got any. The capital gains tax on property in France might be used as an illustration of the futility of thinking up schemes to avoid paying what may not even be due. Hollande has just announced that he wishes the government, his government, to go back to the status quo ante on capital gains on property.
Secondly, who is to say that with a property market in the doldrums, you'll even have a profit to declare? And the tax is on a prorata temporis sliding scale and so may not work out that much, unless you're buying to sell on again rapidly. Any renovation work carried out can be added to the original price and thus diminishes any gain.
As regards residency, yes the tax authorities can and do ask for proof of your movements, yes there are border controls between the UK and the Continent, and unless you're a cross-channel swimmer, you will need to buy a ticket to leave or come back. Friends of mine have been hauled over the coals by the fisc when they tried to claim they weren't resident in France.
But if you are worried solely about capital gains, why not declare yourself as a permanent resident here, then your home would become your résidence principale and thus exempt from CGT?
One last thing. Whilst understanding that the issue of the euro is not one you wish to factor in, I think you'd be wise to think a little more about it, since part of your assets are going to be expressed in euros.
Keep us posted.

bigglesworth

I could not agree more. I have found the same with every bastion of officialdom there is -except when they closed the swimming pool and saw no reason to offer me a refund on the unused balance of my abonnement.

Luciole

With regards to the Euro and the exchange rate fluctuations and the possibility of it disappearing altogether, this (shared Equity) was one way of mitigating the risk. The money invested in the UK property would likely appreciate over a period of years, which would offset the possible disadvantages of dabbling in the Euro. I do invest in equities and I understand the logic of hedging and spreading risk.
Having said that, it would appear from all of your advice that the cons outweigh the pros with regard to sharing two properties. I wonder how all of these sports personalities manage to do it?

cyrian

With the number of French celebrities leaving France at this time because of the levels of tax it would appear that France is not the destination of choice if you are wealthy.
Once you take wealth tax into consideration, it is apparently possible to pay a tax rate of 100% of income.
That plus heavy social payments drives some to cheaper options in other countries.

Peabrain

I wouldn't mind that much being one of the 8,000 households (out of 36 million) that had to sell off a few acres of their very own little Downton Abbey to pay the wealth tax, even though it would really make me royally s**t as the French so elegantly say. Yes, it's true that it is possible to pay over 100% of one's income in tax, for example if one is the proud owner of a very valuable estate but living off a small (ish) income. Without wishing to defend the indefensible Hollande government, it was apparently due to the emergency measures taken last summer, and won't happen again. Honest guv.