March is always a busy month for me and this month is already looking to be the same thing. Whilst all is quiet on the tax front, for now, I am enjoying the calm before the tax storm to do client reviews and meet new people.
Financial updates March 2023
By Katriona Murray-Platon
This article is published on: 8th March 2023
One of the questions that came up this month was to do with wills and power of attorney. I have already written about wills in previous articles and whilst I do not undertake to help people write their will many people find it helpful to have a conversation with me before speaking to a notaire just to fully understand the implications for expats in France. So if you haven’t written a will and have any questions please do get in touch.
When you have assets in the UK and in France it is important to have a UK will and a French will and these should refer to and not repeal or revoke each other. Equally, if you have money paid into a UK account, over which you would need someone to have power of attorney, it is a good idea to have a UK power of attorney for your UK accounts and a French power of attorney for French accounts. Whilst a UK power of attorney is, under The Hague Convention, valid in France, and a French power of attorney is, if properly drafted, legalised and translated, valid in the UK, it would be easier for those close to you, whom you have appointed as your attorney, to have a registered power of attorney in France and in the UK. This will avoid lengthy administration and translation costs. It is best to consult a notaire to make sure that your French power of attorney is properly drafted and will, come the day, be accepted by French banks.
Hopefully you have already had a look at your tax page and declared your property, if not you have until 1st July 2023 to do this. Just to add to the information in last month’s Ezine, if you rent a property you will have to declare the amount of rent. This information will be used to calculate the rental value of the properties in your area and therefore the Taxe Foncière. However you don’t have to declare the rent just yet, you have until July 30 June 2025 until this becomes mandatory.
Finally, as 8th March is International Women’s Day, I wanted to share with you a photo of the lovely ladies who work for or with The Spectrum IFA Group. This photo was taken at our Gala event in Gleneagles. Before officially joining Spectrum I was encouraged to speak to some of the female advisers to find out their experience and it is because of their experience working in Spectrum that I decided to become a financial adviser.
Today I have the great privilege to work with this amazing group of women! In addition to this I have a large and growing number of female clients who I am pleased and proud to advise. Happy Women’s Day to all my female clients! If no one else is spoiling you, please do take the time to do something nice for yourself to celebrate International Women’s Day.