July 2024 – World Radio Paris

Common financial mistakes to avoid when moving to France

15 July 2024 by Paul McNally

Anyone watching the Tour de France or Paris Olympics on TV from abroad this summer will know – France is a beautiful place to live.

However, relocating can bring various challenges and risks. We asked the experts at Kentington’s tax and investment consultants for some common mistakes to avoid.

Prospective movers to France must be open-minded regarding their financial arrangements. Along the way, while some aspects of a given person’s tax and financial management in France might be slightly different from what you may be accustomed to, others might be in total contrast to what you are familiar with.

Financial mistakes can have severe consequences for expats in France. They could lead to overpayment of taxes, fines, and even investigations by the tax authorities. Understanding and avoiding these mistakes is crucial to maintaining financial stability and peace of mind.

So, what are some of the most frequent mistakes that people make regarding their finances in France?

Misunderstanding French tax residency. This is a crucial financial aspect for anyone planning to move to France. It’s a common source of confusion and can significantly impact your financial arrangements.

Facing unexpected tax liabilities when transferring assets. With effect from January 2018, a new wealth tax – Impôts sur le fortune immobilière (IFI) – was introduced in France. This is a tax on an individual’s real estate assets. Both non-residents and residents are assessable to this tax on their property assets.

Mismanaging pensions and retirement funds. Given each individual’s unique circumstances, it’s crucial to seek expert advice to navigate the intricacies of this financial aspect. This will enable them to assess the full implications of any move their actions for their long-term income and tax payable, and also provide a sense of reassurance and confidence in their financial planning.

Poor inheritance and gift tax planning. A key element of French inheritance law is the concept of forced heirship. This requires a portion of a deceased individual’s estate in France to be passed to their children and, in some cases, their spouse, irrespective of whatever wishes the deceased might have communicated in their will.

Ineffective handling of currency exchange and banking. It might be a sound decision to introduce some level of diversification to your assets, including concerning currencies. Shopping around for the best possible money transfer rates may also be sensible.

Putting all your investment into property. While property can certainly be an excellent investment, this is likeliest to be the case if it forms just one part of a balanced estate.

Not being prepared before moving to France. All too often, expats make the move without adequately organised financial affairs and miss out on opportunities to mitigate their tax liabilities.

Conclusion

Expats moving to France can help ensure they get the most out of their new life in France by taking financial advice from French-regulated advisers, understanding the tax residency rules in France, and getting their financial affairs in order ahead of their move.

Need individual advice? Find out more at kentingtons.com

28 summer book recommendations for the holidays in Paris

12 July 2024 by Paul McNally

General

Whether you’re fleeing the capital to travel and explore, or enjoying summer in Paris during the Games, you’ll need some quality reading material. We asked the English-language booksellers at Smith & Son what books will be accompanying them on holiday this summer.

Here are some to be starting with:

Shelley Noble – The Tiffany Girls
In 1899, a young French girl flees Paris, leaves her father, an art forger wanted by the police, and goes to New York to try to start a new life. As an artist in the Women’s Division of the Tiffany Glass Company, she finds friendship and respect for her talent. This well researched novel , based on real facts and people, will charm anyone interested in art, history and strong female characters.

Oscar Wilde – The Decay of Lying
A pearl of Oscar Wilde, one of his best essays. Wilde here defends the lie as an element superior to the truth for artistic creation, with the famous motto that it is life that imitates art. A false dialogue in a library that will become one of the main arguments of modern art. The volume contains also The critic as Artist.

Raymond Chandler – The Big Sleep and Other Novels
Smoke-filled, quick-witted and downright hypnotic, the three novels in this collection are among Chandler’s best. Philip Marlowe is a down-on-his-luck private eye who often finds himself entangled in an intricate web of lies, deception and blurry morals. Each novel is a radiography of Los Angeles’ seedy underground, where everyone is trying to get by, in any way they can – no matter the cost.

Hernan Diaz – Trust
A literary tour de force by Hernan Diaz, this novel masterfully takes the reader for a ride, betting on their intelligence through four interwoven narratives. The authors of these narratives do not all possess the same level of skill, but they all revolve around the same story. Beyond the critique of the American dream, in the vein of Philip Roth or Tom Wolfe, Hernan Diaz succeeds in giving this book, which gradually becomes a real page-turner, a poignant, bittersweet feminist tone.

Click here to discover all 28 books in this summer’s reading selection, carefully picked by the booksellers at Smith & Son, independent English bookshops in Paris and now Versailles.

A Homage to Shane MacGowan

1 July 2024 by David

General

Did you know the latest episode of Patricia Killeen’s Turning Points was born because of a World Radio Paris episode?

Following the death of Shane MacGowan (1957-2023), Pogues frontman and renowned lyricist, Robert Quinn dedicated an episode of ‘Left of the Dial’ to the singer. This caught the attention Marcolino da Costa, sparking a special event at O’Sullivan’s Franklin D. Roosevelt pub, Paris, where the Cercle Littéraire Irlandais (CLI) gathered to pay homage to the artist.

Marcolino was invited as the keynote speaker and vocalist at the CLI event, as the man behind the popular Facebook page ‘Shane MacGowan is a Fantastic Poet’, created in 2008. His presentation highlighted Shane’s impact on folk music and his voice for emigrants, with readings and songs woven together under the theme ‘Looking for Shane’.

Other performances included Paris-based singer Niall Regan, who opened the event alongside flautist Susan McCarthy with a poignant rendition of ‘Fairytale of New York’. This was followed by Stéphanie Nic Cárthaigh’s performance of ‘Kitty’, and readings from Dr Virginie Roche-Tiengo and artist Alma Fakhr. Novelist Maria D’Arcy concluded the tribute with her epitaph, ‘Shane McGowan Sails on to Heaven’s Shore’.

This recording includes excerpts from the final rehearsal at O’Sullivan’s pub before the audience arrived.

Listen to TURNING POINTS here.

Photo credits: Seamas McSwiney

Monthly Archives: July 2024

Common financial mistakes to avoid when moving to France

28 summer book recommendations for the holidays in Paris

A Homage to Shane MacGowan

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