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Why French municipalities are banning alcohol on beaches
Before opening a bottle by the sea, visitors are advised to check local rules
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Canadian driver carrying six-metre boat stopped on French motorway
A €5,000 transport quote prompted the driver to an alternative plan
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France’s Constitutional Council validates cap on bank inheritance fees
Charges on settling estates to be capped at 1% of deceased’s assets
Higher penalties if you own up to foreign bank accounts
Penalties have been increased for people who own up to having bank accounts abroad that they had not previously declared.
Residents are meant to declare all foreign accounts – and income from such accounts – on their annual income tax declaration.
If you have not done so, you may own up to them (known as régulariser). In such cases tax is payable for recent years when the accounts were not declared, plus a percentage increase applied to the tax, plus fines (though the penalties are not as punitive when non-declared accounts are discovered by the tax office). This now includes a 35% increase (up from 30%), or 25% (up from 15%) for accounts gained ‘passively’ (such as through an inheritance).
