France social tax ruling ‘lacks clarity’

By International Adviser, 26 Oct 15

The full extent of a ruling which has left France liable to refund non-French residents who have unduly paid social charges on unearned income is “not entirely clear”, according to Blevins Franks’ Jason Porter.

The full extent of a ruling which has left France liable to refund non-French residents who have unduly paid social charges on unearned income is "not entirely clear", according to Blevins Franks’ Jason Porter.

The draft social security budget revealed the French Government’s proposal to reallocate the proceeds of the social charges by 2016 in order to ensure they are in line with EU legislation.

“While the French Government has said they intend to pass new legislation, they intend that residents and non-residents not affiliated to the French health system will continue to remain liable to the social charge,” Porter said.

Falling foul

“They aim to undertake this by reallocating the receipts from social charges from the general social security budget to the specific Fonds de Solidarité Vieillesse (FSV), a fund that provides additional support to pensioners with low income.

“The French Government feels this will allow them to avoid the European regulations they previously fell foul of […] but if the Government look for legal guidance from the Conseil d’Etat [the French administrative Supreme Court], they may not get the view they are hoping for.”