Money Talks, and We’re Talking About Money!

Yesterday was this year’s North American Expat Financial Forum, with a record turn-out of about 60 attendees. Thanks to our sponsors, Moneycorp Currency Specialists, Caye International Bank, Dunhill Financial and the Adrian Leeds Group, the four-hour forum featuring seven speakers was offered free of charge and included a cocktail and hors-d’oeuvres break.

The speakers and those who wanted to continue mingling, stayed for dinner at the historic Chez Jenny and got to know one another better.

Clearly, money seems to be a big topic – especially money related to living and investing in France. Each presenter brought a lot of information to a mixed audience of those who are living here, those who are visiting and those who came in specifically for the conference from outside of France. Many of the questions from the attendees centered on taxation – a natural since taxation laws in France are so complicated and always changing.

One of note is the “Taxe d’habitation.” This housing tax is a local tax due by all persons who inhabit a dwelling on January 1 of the tax year. It concerns not only the occupants (owners, tenants or occupants), but also those who have the opportunity to occupy the dwelling. This is the case for a second home, even if that dwelling was not actually occupied on January 1 of the taxation year. In the fall of 2017, President Emmanuel Macron announced that he was considering abolishing the housing tax for all French households, and therefore also for the 20% of taxpayers with the highest incomes. A total exoneration was confirmed this past May 9, 2018. The measure must occur at the latest in 2021.

“Si un impôt n’est pas bon pour 80% des Français, il n’est pas bon pour tous” (“If a tax is not good for 80% of the French, it is not good for all”), he said. (translation). He believes that it’s an unfair tax and will end it within a five-year period. The exoneration will be realized by taxpayers who do not exceed a certain limit and will depend on the family situation of the taxpayer.

Details of the reform and of Macron’s first five-year finance bill includes flagship measures included in his presidential campaign promises. The main changes in the 2018 Finance Act. The final text was published in the Official Journal of 31 December 31, 2017. 

According to the 2018 Finance Act, the new exemptions should come into force in stages for a full implementation of the scheme by 2020. Taxpayers who do not exceed the income limits benefit from a 30% decrease in their 2018 housing tax; a second drop of 65% in their 2019 housing tax and a total exemption from the 2020 housing tax. For example: a taxpayer who pays a habitation tax in 2017 of 600€, would pay only 420€ in 2018 and 210€ in 2019. Note, the audio-visual tax is not affected by this reform.

The government tax site offers you a simulator to estimate approximately the amounts you will save in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Simply fill in your reference tax income, the number of tax units in your household and the amount of your housing tax. Accessible here,  this simulator can notably allow monthly taxpayers to request a reduction in the amount of their monthly payments due to the drop in their tax.

Here is a video of Emmanuel Macron being interviewed about the tax reforms on TF1.

One of the attendees asked how the government intends to replace the tax. I wish I knew!

This was the third North American Expat Financial Forum, but hopefully it won’t be our last!

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

Respond to Adrian

P.S. Planning a trip to Paris this summer? Now’s the time to find your apartment. Contact our Bookings Manager, Patty, and find your perfect home away from home now!