What the French Republic could learn from Zoology
February 28, 2008
I was sent this article by the editor of a local magazine in Languedoc, blablablah, I understand the frustration this writer feels but would point out that living in France they are benefitting from a lot of things supported by these taxes - health, education, roads, transport, sports facilities - to name but a few, are among the best in the world.
I have felt the same frustration, but after living in France for 20 years I can see that by giving back to my “host” I cease to be a “parasite”. However, it is a shame that there is no encouragement for an entrepreneur in France, the employment laws have for a generation actively discouraged hard work and unions are clinging to a socialist fantasy - come on Sarko, “pull your finger out” (oops, that could be a bad choice of words).
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One of our correspondents suggests the French Ministry of Finance would do well to study Charles Darwin.
Parasites should never kill their hosts. This is the elementary lesson all parasitologists, she writes, learn on day one.
Kill your host and you have nothing to live on and your parasitic master race will be doomed. Unless of course you are a really rampant killer parasite and the death of your host and succour is just one more step to an easy life of living and breeding without the boring business of finding food for yourself.
But let us stick to the self interested brighter sort of parasite represented in this case by say the Ministry of Finance of a country with a rather high level of unemployment.
One might think France - with a stubbornly high level of un-employment might want work to be rewarding - attractive even..
Is this just another columnist rant?
You might think so until we take you through a real life example which makes one of our reporter’s wonder why she bothers to work.
Last year this reporter earned a stunning 1,919 euro for her words and pictures submitted to the excellent French News. Then, as a thoroughly fair sort of Brit, she felt she should register this lucrative enterprise with the State - not wishing to work on the Black and keen to contribute to this fine country.
This, dear reader, was the beginning of a great mistake!
Tax - of course - you declare it - no problem but then there is URSSAF - not a branch of the US military but the people who issue the Siret number you need to work independently in France and RSI another - pay us now outfit.
As corny papers say “imagine my surprise” when the kindly folk of URSSAF demanded, in January, a whopping 1,333 euro leaving the correspondent a mere 586 euro. Soak the rich eh - and the poor and struggling while you are about it too.
Then in February another parasite invaded - RSI - which also want to gorge on whatever mean reserves of food this damaged body has, with a demand for 1,077 euro.
So far my freelance work has cost me 491 euro more than I have earned. So next year I plan to give up my hobby of supporting the Republic - it is better, and cheaper not to work at all.
And of course the princely sum of 1,919euro has already been added to the family’s income.
We are bracing ourselves for the pension parasites who we hear might want twice the amount of URSSAF and RSI - a scandal if you want to reduce chomage.
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Comment by Tony
Here is a comment to this I got by email - some interesting points - but my experience is that once you start getting into “the system” - you pay a minimum (fairly high) forfait rate for two years, so they get you anyway
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On first glance, it looks like several mistakes have been made here. First, the income has been declared in its entirety - whereas business expenses of at least 35% should have been deducted… see the tax office and use a PO1 to sort this… also the statut has not been carefully sorted as not all journalists/writers fall under the auspices of URSAF and many can be dealt with by Agessa (a cheaper regime) and lastly, in the face of huge bills like this you should ask URSSAF for la prise en charge par la commission d’action sociale citing low income etc. The reason the charges are so high is probably that this income has been treated as a supplement to another full time income.
I agree that all this is hideously complicated, and not at all easy to sort. I also agree that finding the correct information is not easy. I suggest starting to track down the information at the ANPE, the Chambre de Commerce, the various financial and tax advisors that advertise in the xpat press etc… do not contact me as I don’t have the time or the expertise to unravel individual problems. I’m just a humble hack after all.
Furthermore in this case it sounds as if the charges have been paid, so there is no rememdy this time round.
One last thought: in order to be declared and legal, signed sealed and delivered, for just less than 50% of gross earnings and no hassle at all try googling “portage salarial”. This system is brilliant for those who are sick of struggling with the French system, want to be declared and don’t want to be bothered doing forms themselves.
Best of luck to all…
Sam
Comment by Tony
Keeping the comments going - this reply from “R” to “Sam” came to me by email….
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Thanks Sam
Very good but – as a foreigner having done ALL I was told to do – this is the position I am in.
So maybe I shouldn’t have started here in the first place but this humble hack merely did what the papers and booklets told him to and got stuffed. Even my accountant didn’t warn me.
My point that it hardly encourages enterprise, I think stands.
Sadly my offer of a few days in jail wont work instead of paying – they will simply shut down my bank account – or so the nice Christine from RSI Paris tells me.
It is all a bit unpleasant and encourages me to do the sensible thing – stop working!
R
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R - You are right, I have never ever in 20 years living in France found any “professional” who would offer advice without being asked the right question and none who would suggest anything without being asked - the point is if you know the right question, you rarely need the advice - this part of the “cat and mouse” of French Kulchur is simply a fact of life in France.
The French have been brought up and educated in fear and dread of “big brother”, perhaps the original was a tall fellow with a big nose and waving arms who pulled a scruffy tired population together in the 1950s and was famous for saying “non”, this was perhaps a necessary evil, unlike the foul mouthed libidinous political caracature of today - I digress…
R, I really feel for you , if you read a chapter in Helena’s excellent book “More French Please We’re British” -
More France Please, We’re British!: 15 Lessons on Life in France
- it is about the misery Carole and I experienced at the hands of the tax police, all totally mysterious to us and our misery when we saw the grey suited grey men who claimed to be our “defence accountants” turn their back on us.
This experience cured me of anything to do with French accounting and French banking systems to the point I wil not enter a bank in France now. The end result of eighteen months of this misery was we were innocent, but it cost us over 20,000 euro because I never kept reciepts for 30 years (which everyone knows you do in France).
That is the point, everyone “knows” the problems exist and do not need to know the details - so they keep their heads down - it is like the road signs, they see no point in telling you how to get to the next town as everyone knows where that is, so they tell you of interesting far-off places.
Dont let the bastards grind you down, a lot of non French are standing for the local elections - my son is more French than the President of France - so one day it will be a fair and just nation (yeah right) - but it is still, in my opinion, the best place in the world to live.
Tony