How to accept a cash gift from overseas

leg1t

TM1976 wrote: »

Here is some information on French gift tax:

http://riviera.angloinfo.com/countries/france/moretax.asp

It appears that this is just a part of the inheritance tax regime there and as such you have the option to pay tax now or when the donor dies. There are also some exemptions that you can use to gift depending on your relationship with the recipient.

Thanks for the link. I don't know with 100% certainty how to correctly interpret it all and I haven't even seen the legal text - just a translated sumary but it does add something I did not read before.

"A lifetime gift by manual transfer does not necessarily have to be declared and taxed, although such gifts are brought into account when inheritance tax is computed if the donee is also a legatee of the estate." [continues]
Might it be possible that it works something like in england - whether tax will be paid on a lifetime gift depends on how long the donor lives, or at least that any due taxes are not necessarily paid at the time of the gift. I appreciate your comment also because you're the first to look at FGT specifically and make the suggestion - there has otherwise been a focus on how much of a criminal I would be without making that consideration! That's why I love these forums - lots of minds in one place. Maybe I wouldn't be a dirty criminal, maybe if there is some truth to this, maybe I could turn up with a bag of cash at the bank (although of course I wouldn't need to). Maybe. I don't know but these discussions have led me to seek some professional advice from a french tax specialist. I'm not sure when that will be because it I'd quite like to do that in person but I'll report back here.

tyllwyd

This seems to imply that it doesn't work in quite the same way as the UK system

"Gifts and inheritances for other relatives – General rules

France applies a system of gift tax, which means that when somebody gives you some money, you have to pay tax on it, whether or not the donor survives 7 years after the gift, which is the PET system applied in the UK. It is a true gift tax with the donee rather than the donor paying the tax. The rate of the tax varies with the relationship between the donor and the donee and with the amount of money given. "

which is a quote from http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-legal/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=29966

John_Pierpoint

Do "barer bonds" still exist on the continent, completer with tear off strips to claim the dividends?

Whenever there is a over heavy tax, capitalism will think of a way of avoiding it; I would think gold coins are pretty popular at the moment. The Swiss will happily sell those.

Now where is my pair of shoes with hollow heals?

I would think it is the responsibility of the French citizen to deduct the "illegal in the UK" tax before making the gift.
Just like a UK citizen deducting UK tax from rent payable to an overseas resident.
Now we are all EU citizens, it is just a matter of time.