Changes in store for France in 2014

JANUARY 1 brings a wide range of changes to areas of day-to-day French life, from tax and motoring to the cost of posting a letter.

The minimum wage, SMIC, goes up 1.1% to €1,113 net per month. Income support, RSA, is up 1.3%.

The top rate of VAT passes from 19.6% to 20% and the old 7% rate becomes 10%. VAT on cinema tickets drops from 7% to 5.5% with under-14s offered a new flat €4 rate to see a film.

An estimated 200,000 low-income households will cease to be taxed on their income as the minimum threshold increases.

However, the thresholds applied when calculating the quotient familial are being recalculated, increasing by €1,500 for each demi-part instead of €2,000. This means an estimated 1.3 million households will see their income tax bill rise by about €800.

Postal charges increase by an average of 3% with the price of a stamp passing from €0.63 to €0.66. Cigarette prices will also rise from January 13, up €0.20 for a pack of 20 and €0.50 for rolling tobacco.

Drivers in the overseas departments should see their petrol bill fall after a law was passed limiting petrol firms' profit margins, which are said to be twice as high in the DOM than in mainland France.

The January edition of Connexion has full details on all the changes for 2014 - including amendments for autoentrepreneurs, local tax and stamp duty. A digital edition can be downloaded here for €3.50.