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FRANCE EXPLAINED

Car hire, grocery shopping and being veggie: 6 essential articles for life in France

From the shortage of available cars for rent in France this summer, to gaining French citizenship through ancestry, new tests for motorbikes and being vegetarian in a carnivore country - here are six articles you need to read to understand modern life in France.

Published: 23 May 2022 08:44 CEST
Car hire, grocery shopping and being veggie: 6 essential articles for life in France
How to find a 'vegetarian' meal in France that doesn't contain any meat or fish. Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP

With life returning to near-normal, pre-Covid conditions, tourism is booming. France is set to be a popular holiday destination this summer – but renting a vehicle could cost you a lot of money because of a combination of very high demand and reduced stocks.

So, if you are coming to France over the summer, and plan to hire a car to get around, we have some advice for you.

‘Book now’ – rental cars set to be scarce and expensive in France this summer

Bikers probably won’t like it – they campaigned hard to get the government to delay these measures until 2023 when they were first supposed to be brought in – but France’s highest administrative court has ruled that, from October, older motorbikes must undertake regular roadworthiness tests.

We explain more.

Contrôle technique: Motorbikes in France now need roadworthy tests

News broke last week that the father of Britain’s Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been granted French citizenship by ancestry.

We explain how you could do the same thing. Spoiler: it’s not easy.

How to obtain French citizenship through ancestry

Historically, France and vegetarianism don’t really mix. The consensus seems to be the country’s getting better at it, but there’s a way to go, yet.

While this can be frustrating, it also leads to some pretty memorable and funny experiences as our readers attest to in their accounts here.

‘My vegetarian crêpe was covered in crab and lobster’: Stories of going meat-free in France

And we also have some practical tips for veggies.

‘Call the restaurant’ – your tips for beging vegetarian or vegan in France

Speaking of food, with rising inflation and cost of living, many people in France are desperate to keep their grocery bills low.

Here are a few tips for how to avoid paying too much for food, drink and other everyday items. It won’t solve everything, but it may make things a little bit easier.

7 tips to keep your grocery shopping in France affordable

And finally, you may have noticed that the air where you are in France has been filled with drifting balls of white fluff. Fortunately, it’s perfectly natural and normal – there’s just a bit more of it this year. We explain exactly what it is.

What’s all that white fluff drifting around France?

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Are Canadian pensions taxed in France?

If you are considering retiring to France, you might be wondering whether you will still be able to access your Canadian pension and if it will be subject to French taxes. Here is what you need to know.

Published: 26 April 2024 16:20 CEST
Are Canadian pensions taxed in France?

Before going any further, it is worth noting that this article is meant to give an overview of the pensions situation for people with Canadian pensions. It does not replace professional financial advice, and Canadians looking to retire in France should still seek out expert financial assistance as needed.

The first step is to determine whether or not you are a tax resident in France (you can look through our guide). All tax residents must fill out a yearly tax declaration, and they must report all global income, even if it is not subject to tax in France. 

You should also consider if you have a pension from another country besides Canada, as different rules may apply based on that country’s bilateral tax treaty with France. Here is the situation for British, American, and Australian pensions, and here is an overview of the system.

Where is my pension taxed?

In Canada, the pensions system includes multiple tiers of public and private schemes, but luckily the double tax treaty between Canada and France is explicit about where pensions are taxed.

The Local spoke with Isaac Barchichat, a registered CPA in France, Canada and the USA to understand the situation for Canadians in France. He is a managing partner at Monceau CPA, an international accounting firm based in Paris with offices in the US and Canada.

He told The Local: “Tax treaties usually follow the OECD model, which means that Article 18 is usually focused on pensions.

“Article 18 for the Canada-France treaty is very similar to the USA-France treaty. This means that pensions are taxed in the country that they are issued in,” he said.

As a result, any Canada-based pension – whether that is the Old Age Security plan, the CPP (Canada Pension Plan) or QPP (Quebec Pension Plan), or a private personal or employer plan (such as Registered Retirement Savings Plans, or RRSPs) – would be taxed in Canada, not France.  

Barchichat explained that Canadians in France should still declare their pension income in France. Like Americans, they will receive a tax credit from France attesting that they have already paid tax in Canada on their pension.

“People should still maintain proof that the pension was already subject to tax, in case of an audit,” he added.

Barchichat also recommended that Canadians resident in France can make use of the ‘mention expresse’ section in their French tax declaration.

“Sometimes French local tax authorities fail to assess foreign income properly. Using the ‘mention expresse’ allows you to specify to French tax authorities Article 18 from the tax treaty to ensure that they process your documents properly,” he advised.

All of this being said, Canadians should beware that their pension income could still count towards your total household income in France, even though it is not taxed here. As a result, it could end up pushing you into a higher tax bracket.

What about social charges?

In addition to taxes (impôts), France also requires people to pay social charges (prélèvements sociaux) on income. However, only specific types of income can be considered for social charges, such as the CSM charge (PUMa) for healthcare. 

The general rule is that pensioners and their spouses do not have to pay the CSM charge, but France specifically exempts people who have a pension from France, the EU, the EEA and the UK (people with S1 forms), as well as their non-working spouses.

There is some debate over whether American and Canadian private pensions ought to be treated as a pension (and therefore exempt from CSM) or as investment income (which can attract CSM charges). 

When it comes to Americans, tax expert Jonathan Hadida from HadTax told The Local: “Under the principle of equality amongst taxpayers, URSAAF has treated most US pensions/IRA distributions/401(k) distributions akin to a French/Swiss/European pension and have therefore exempted Americans with pension income.”

“I have called URSSAF, and I was told by the representative that they should be paying for PUMa. But in practice, I have not seen many American pensioners charged for it.”

It is likely that similar standards are applied to Canadians. 

Barchichat, who is licenced in both the US and Canada, said that in his opinion neither American nor Canadian pensioners should be charged for prélèvements sociaux. 

“If this happens, it is a mistake by tax authorities”, he added. You can learn more about contesting a CSM charge here.

READ MORE: Cotisations: Why you might get an unexpected French health bill

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