Change of Plans...
by Peter Elias. They always say that a week is a long time in politics. It must be for Francois Hollande and his new Government. Early in July his team were busy briefing some fairly radical changes to taxation for second homes, something that would have had a significant impact upon many UK owners here in France. Taxes on rental income (gîtes and chambre d’hotes), would rise from 20% to 35.5%, and Capital Gains Tax on property sales would rise from 19% to 34.5%. The extra in each case was being raised via a "social charge". I wrote a blog on this subject and questioned the legality of this approach, since non-residents in France are not normally liable for social charges. Within 48 hours, there had been over a thousand hits on the site and various views expressed, as the rise in CGT was actually only going to bring ex-Pats in line with the rate that French owners pay currently. However, during his visit to England to see David Cameron and the Queen, Hollande announced a full uturn, and backtracked on both aspects of the proposed charges.
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The change in plans highlighted for me that the plans had been rushed through and the validity of the legislation not properly checked.
From 10€ p/month.
It is a bit like some of the buyers that we have viewing houses. They give us a specification of what they are seeking when they start their viewing visits, and then completely change tack and buy something pretty well the opposite of what they had indicated to start with!
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Talking of a change of direction and strategy, this is going to be the last column that I write for ‘The DSM’. I have been on-board with Sarah since the start of the magazine, and prior to that wrote for nearly 10 years for ‘Impressions’. I think it is a good time to allow somebody else to take over the column. I have enjoyed trying to keep readers up-to-date with the property & currency markets, and hope that you have found something of interest to read. The very best wishes to all readers, every success to Sarah with this great publication, and to my replacement with this column. Peter Elias (Agent Commercial): 05 49 27 01 22 www.allez-francais.com
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