A rant about being ripped off by the French taxation authorities.... and why there is no French word for entrepreneur

Friday 31 July 2015
Cool and showery and warm later
25 degrees

FB friend from Lakes asked to see further details of our main house.  I wonder if synchronicity will work so that she takes it over?  That would be so lovely and would mean we could keep in contact and I could see how the house and gardens change over the period of their ownership.  Look at her house on Rightmove.  It is lovely and very clean and the kitchen is huge.

Down town to meet Monday's buyer and go and sort out his insurance.  The skies turn black and there is torrential rain and we have to share a very small umbrella over to the insurance office.  The price for insurance is 300 euros and I assume that he will think this is reasonable in comparison with UK insurance but things must have changed a lot in the eleven years we have been over here and I leave, thinking I hope he doesn't buy an expensive car when he moves over here or he will die when he gets the quote.  I have to pay 700 euros a year on the Qashkai.  OH is very keen to change it and is trying to interest me in a range of ugly French bricks such as the C Max.  I had a test drive in one once and detested it.  Also, according to my accountant, depending on the type of car you get and the emissions, will affect how much write down you are allowed.  In the UK, when I was an accountant, you could write down 100% of most cars.  If you get a gas guzzler here, you can only write down 50% of the value and in any event, the value is capped at 18000 euros. Most new cars cost more than this - what a fiddle.

Accountant also told me, to my astonishment, that unless I subscribe to the services of an invigilation company (more than 300 euros a year) that the tax authorities will assume I am earning some of my revenue on the black and tax me on 125% of my earnings.  WTF? Everything passes by the notary.  I have no opportunity to hide anything.  My favourite Bushism is 'the French have no word for entrepreneur'.  There is just no incentive to do well here, with the 20% VAT and 45% tax.  Really pissed off.

Back home and pleased to find that the NZ man has cancelled.  Weather atrocious.  He has not managed to get on a plane and will be coming in a few weeks time, hopefully when weather is glorious and he will be desperate to buy something lovely, like his colleagues did.

Completed paperwork for new offer and entered up a new property.  Spoke to lady who is coming over next Thursday and has had the brilliant idea of bringing over lovely vintage VW camper vans and renting them to people who are on holiday.  Line up some visits.  Once again, my major competitor is also out with her.  At least I am in first.

Suggest to OH that we look at some properties on Rightmove and he says that he will need to organise buy to let loan first and the best thing to do would be to buy in an area which will give us the best yield and this wont necessarily be in the area where the boys are.  This, I feel is Grade A backsliding and we have words.