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France tightens checks on small non-EU parcels, UK magazine deliveries impacted
Attempts made to avoid French tax by delivering via other EU countries
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Fuel leak at Brittany water plant triggers tap water ban
Limits on drinking water and showers still in place for some homes
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More homes in south of France must clear undergrowth or face fine
Homeowners reminded of obligatory land clearance rules prior to forest fire season
Parents warned on French property handover
Donating the freehold of a property to your children while you maintain use of it could be considered an abuse by the taxman from January 2020, a financial thinktank has warned .
Cercle des fiscalistes says a provision in the 2019 Finance Act means that parents donating the nue-propriété while retaining usufruit (a life interest) could end up being heavily fined.
It hopes the new text will be struck out by the Conseil Constitutionnel.
Tax payable by offspring at the time of receiving a nue-propriété gift is lower than if inheriting the same property later, as the value of the gift takes into account the fact the beneficiary does not (yet) have full rights to it.
Up to now, the arrangement could legally be contested only if it was proved to be done exclusively for tax reduction reasons. The new text changes this to “principally for tax reasons”.
