Service France

by David Anderson, French tax and property solicitor at Sykes Anderson LLP solicitors

Other articles on this website emphasise the importance of taking legal and tax advice from a specialist who understands not only the UK and French systems, but also how they interact. But we often find that those who do, wisely, decide to take advice, leave this until the last minute. Indeed, our experience from meeting potential clients is that very few express no interest in the advice we can offer, but rather say “it’s too early for that”. This article explains why it’s not.

Why you should not postpone the day you give us a call:

• It can take a long time to set up effective tax-avoidance structures. We don’t want you to have to compromise on the best structure because of short deadlines.

• It’s much easier if we advise you from start to finish – that is, from before you sign the compromis de vente. Once you’ve signed it, you may already have somewhat compromis-ed your position, especially with regard to structure.

• Our advice is transferable – even if you haven’t yet found a property, the tax advice is unlikely to depend on it. Even if you ultimately decide not to use our conveyancing service, the tax advice can still be useful.

• The French administration does not move quickly – as we have been told “one of the reasons [making beneficial financial arrangements] is possible is because [your client] has contacted me in good time, i.e. 4 -6 months before the intended arrival in France” (our emphasis).

• Certain lucrative tax advantages are due to close quite soon. If you delay, you may miss out on them altogether.

If you are moving to France, the earlier you come to see us, the more we can manage the tax minutiae of your move. We keep control of it, so you keep control of it. Thus you don’t have to retrospectively justify yourself to the UK or French Revenues.

For £1,500 + VAT, we offer you a meeting lasting three hours (max.), half dedicated to our highly praised French tax presentation and half to bespoke advice to you. Further details are available here.

You can contact David Anderson by email or on 020 7398 4700.