Retirees reaching UK state pension age post-Brexit

At a recent British Embassy Outreach meeting the UK Ambassador to France was asked by PetersonSims in the Q&A session whether future retirees, who reach UK state pension age post-Brexit, will still be able to apply for an S1 certificate which entitles the individual to access the French healthcare regime.  The Ambassador categorically confirmed that S1 certificates for such individuals will continue to be issued, so there will, effectively, be no change to the current position, post-Brexit.

BREXIT: A1/S1 Applications under EU Regs 883/2004

EU Regs 883/2004

At a recent British Embassy Outreach meeting, the UK Ambassador to France was asked by PetersonSims in the Q&A session whether consideration had been given to the continuing application of the EU Regs 883/2004 (relating to the place of payment of social security contributions for posted workers and workers pursuing an activity in two or more EU states).  The Ambassador confirmed that the status quo will be maintained for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.  This would infer that the current rules relating to A1 and S1 certificates will remain unchanged, post Brexit, for such individuals. 

We stress that this was a verbal response to our question and we are seeking a written response from the Embassy to confirm this statement.  Furthermore we have asked for a statement regarding the position of future workers who are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.

Reporting Deadline - 30 September 2018 to avoid harsh penalties!

The Finance Act 2017 brought in a “Requirement to Correct (RTC)” for taxpayers who think or know that they have underpaid UK tax in respect of overseas income, assets or taxable activities.  The deadline for the RTC is 30 September 2018  so taxpayers who do not come forward and report their omissions to HMRC by that date, face much stiffer penalties than hitherto. 

From 1 October 2018, if a disclosure or discovery is made, the taxpayer will face penalties which start at a minimum of 100% of the tax due.  In serious cases there is also an Asset Based Penalty of up to 10% of the underlying asset and additional penalties levied if HMRC can show that a taxpayer moved their assets in order to avoid reporting. 

By 1 October 2018 more than 100 jurisdictions will have exchanged data with the UK under the “Common Reporting Standard”.  So, as at the deadline, HMRC are being provided with information on UK taxpayers’ bank accounts, investments and trusts held around the world.

The intervening period to 30 September 2018 is the last opportunity to make a voluntary disclosure to HMRC and benefit from the lower penalty regime.

If you require further information or assistance to make a voluntary disclosure to HMRC then please contact us on info@petersonsims.com

FRANCE: CFE bills are now released and are due for payment by 15 December

The CFE (Contribution Fonciere des Entreprises) bills for Micro-entrepreneurs (formerly Auto-entrepreneurs) and other businesses are now available online.

Access your CFE avis via your "espace professionnel" and follow the links to the CFE avis to make the payment online.   

No prompts or reminders are sent out by the Tax Administration, so you forget to pay this at your peril!

Letters from URSSAF (Union de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d'Allocations Familiales)

Following the release earlier this year of data to URSSAF by the Tax Administration, we are aware that many expatriates living in France have recently received a letter from URSSAF stating that contributions to the PUMA health regime (formally CMU) will be due from them within the next month.  The normal rate of PUMA contributions is 8% of the household's "revenus de patrimoine" ie investment income and capital gains.

Expatriates in France in possession of an S1 healthcare certificate from their home country are urged to obtain an Attestation from CPAM which should show code 70 on the attestation, meaning that their healthcare costs are borne by their home country ie United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland etc and, thus, the PUMA charge is not applicable.

If the attestation does not show code 70, it is possible there was a clerical error when the S1 was first registered with CPAM.  Often the CPAM forms erroneously show a retired person as “inactive” rather than “autres/retraité” so it will be necessary to get this amended to show the all-important code 70.

MTD Part Six: Common sense prevails!

The Treasury announced yesterday that there will be a significant revamping of the proposals for MTD.

Businesses with income below the £85,000 VAT threshold, and which previously were caught under the original proposals, will no longer have to report online under the digital regime.  The Treasury have said they can join the digital revolution “at a pace that is right for them” although tax reporting online may be brought in at some point in the future.

The modified proposals see businesses above the VAT threshold being required to keep online digital records from April 2019 – but only for VAT reporting.  For other taxes, there is no requirement to keep or update digital records quarterly until “the system has been shown to work well and no earlier than 2020”.

PetersonSims are delighted at this announcement and Gerry Sims FCA said “At last, common sense has prevailed and the Government has listened to the views of the accounting profession and recognised that MTD would have been a significant time and monetary cost for business, just at the point when they would be facing other economic challenges associated with Brexit ”.

The new legislation will form part of the new Finance Bill which is expected to be introduced before Parliament’s summer recess.

New Expatriate Tax Director

PetersonSims are expanding the Expatriate Tax team and we are delighted to announce the appointment of Oliver Dupuy as Expatriate Tax Director from 3 July.   Oliver joins us from Ernst & Young, having worked in a senior role in expatriate tax in their Cambridge, London and Moscow offices.

He joins our existing Expatriate Tax team, providing advice on all aspects of expatriate taxation and bringing a wealth of Big 4 experience to our clients.  Oliver is located in our new offices in Letchworth and can be contacted by email at odupuy@petersonsims.com or by telephone on +44 (0)208 068 1400