'It's my way of paying France back': the US retiree who embraced French fiscal fairness

After a decade in France, Janice Wang has immersed herself in her host country. The retired resident of Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes) speaks fluent French and has a wide circle of French friends.

Despite her current affinity with her adopted home, Ms Wang, 70, did not always live the French way. Born and raised in the US, she said she grew up surrounded by her native land's "dog-eat-dog, capitalistic mindset."

Transitioning to a life in France, therefore, brought a considerable amount of surprises – especially regarding money. This ranged from French salaries to the simple fact that in France many ongoing monthly payments are taken directly from your bank.

"I remember being really shocked when I first started signing up for all these services here," she told The Connexion. "I don't want people taking money from my account."

Today she finds this, as well as other financial practices in France, more practical than in the US. Yet the years this American retiree spent building a life in a new country taught her that when it comes to finances, the French and Americans certainly do not see eye to eye. 

Understanding the French approach to income, taxation, benefits and more has ultimately led her to take action in her community and defend French values of fiscal fairness.

'Money in France is viewed differently'

Many of the differences between American and French culture Ms Wang has observed come down to a simple phenomenon: "money in France is viewed differently," she said.

For example, if an American sees someone with a fancy car, big house or other signs of material wealth, their first reaction is typically, "wow that guy must have a great job, he did well for himself," she said.

Two thought-provoking incidents opened her eyes to the very different mindset operating in France.

One was when a French pharmacy owner she knew bought himself a Porsche at the peak of his earning power. Rather than the typical American reaction of admiration, his neighbours were no longer friendly to him and seemed to resent his success.

Then, when Ms Wang's hairdresser bought herself a used sports car and had it revamped, her neighbours reacted similarly: "They would say things to her like, 'Oh, so suddenly you're too good for us, right?'"

Ms Wang attributes it to the radically different fiscal environment in France – with so many more controls on income and credit, lavish spending immediately draws more scrutiny.

The legal dimension of these controls provides another explanation. On mortgages, the Haut Conseil de Stabilité Financière (HCSF), France’s financial stability watchdog, requires that total monthly debt repayments do not exceed 35% of net monthly income. In the US, by contrast, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped its hard ceiling on the debt-to-income ratio in 2020.

In general, the French are far less likely to pay with credit cards: a 2023 survey put credit cards at 12.4% of cards in circulation in France, while 82% of adults in the US had a credit card in 2022.

Furthermore, France does not have a system of personal credit scores. That being said, the Banque de France manages payment incident files where financial incidents can be recorded.

Ms Wang noted that in her experience, French people tend to be more frugal and conscious of the ecological impact of their consumption. The country is also home to hundreds of Repair Cafés where people can bring in broken items and get them fixed rather than buying another one.

'The charm offensive'

Though the concept of ongoing monthly payments being deducted directly from her bank account surprised Ms Wang, she found that, on the flip side, there was more leeway regarding contracts in France.

For example, after unwittingly signing up for a phone insurance policy with Orange of about €14 per month, she saw on the contract that it could not be cancelled. However, Ms Wang did not give up and wrote Orange a detailed letter explaining the situation. It ended up cancelling the policy and also reimbursing her.

When it comes to dealing with these sorts of administrative hurdles, Ms Wang has developed a strategy she calls "the charm offensive." It is a simple method – when interacting with an employee, try to make them smile first with a conversation unrelated to the issue at hand.

That strategy worked perfectly for Ms Wang a few weeks ago when she received a tax bill of €8,000, despite not owing any taxes. She set up an appointment with the tax office in August, when the office was virtually empty due to the holiday period. Her leading line to the woman working there was: "I hope you're not crabby because you're the only one working here today," Ms Wang said.

The woman laughed and from there, the interaction was frictionless. After speaking with the man who was working on her taxes, within a few minutes the issue was resolved.

Still, it is key to remember that the success of these interactions rests on speaking French.

"I always tell fellow Americans, don't think you're going to walk into the tax office unless you can speak enough French to explain the tax treaty items that refer to you," Ms Wang said.

Speaking of polite communication styles, talking about money and how much someone makes is generally considered a faux pas.

'Give and take'

In general, gross salaries are lower in France compared to the US: official French statistics body Insee reports the gross average salary per month as €3,613 in France, while in the US, the median gross salary is around $5,351.67 (about €4,602) per month, according to the US Department of Labor.

Acknowledging that low salaries are a very real stressor for many French people, Ms Wang pointed out that France still has more income equality than the US. For example, a 2023 paper found that wealth concentration in the 1% rose much faster in the US than in France.

Additionally, while France has one of the highest tax burdens in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the country offers universal health coverage – medical costs for chronic health conditions are 100% covered – free education and generous unemployment benefits.

"It's a give and take," Ms Wang said.

Seeing how even her French friends with the smallest salaries pay into this system, she has sought to make it even more fair. It all began when CNN ran a news feature last year about American retirees accessing France's low-cost public healthcare without ever paying taxes in France – all thanks to the country's Protection Universelle Maladie (Puma).

"It's great that they're getting cared for, but then to advertise it on national publications, they're practically screaming, 'Come on over! If you don't like the American system, if you can't pay for your medical bills, come on over! It's free here!'" Ms Wang said.

She and a few others decided to write a letter last October to French député François Gernigon about this loophole, which they felt unfairly benefited those who had never paid taxes in France.

"I got a lot of negative blowback," Ms Wang said.

However, despite standing to gain from this benefit offered to American retirees, she stands by her fight against this "inequity": "these working French people, or retired French people, who are still contributing to their health system, are in essence paying for retired Americans who might have a higher retirement income than the French do."

The law was eventually passed, requiring these retirees to pay a fee to access universal healthcare, but a ministerial decree outlining the details of the policy is not out yet.

After a decade in France, even those money changes that could be the hardest for Americans to swallow – take, for example, the 60% inheritance tax – are things Ms Wang takes in stride. In fact, she said if she bequeaths her assets to her "chosen family," her friends in France, she would gladly accept the hefty tax rate on those possessions.

"I'm happy with that," she said. "It's my way of paying France back as my adoptive country."