Registering with the Chamber of Commerce

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Blanche
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Registering with the Chamber of Commerce

Post by Blanche »

Up to now my gite income has been less than my UK pension income. You don't need to register with the Chamber of Commerce until your gite income is your main one. But next year, with the weak pound, I am concerned that my gite income will overtake the pension and I will have to register. What does this entail, where do you get the forms and does it cost??
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Post by French Cricket »

I can't offer specific advice about how to go about it but a while ago I started pondering the same question for a similar reason, Blanche. I soon decided that I would prefer to limit my gîte income so that it remained 49,95% of my overall income, so time-consuming did registration sound - added to the fact that once registered, the only way to de-register is to close the business.
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Post by Blanche »

Thanks French Cricket. I am not even sure what registering will involve. Being classified, paying cotisations? At the moment I am not classified so pay the taxe de séjour myself as it isn't that much. And I just fill out the normal tax returns.
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Post by French Cricket »

You don't need to be classified, but yes, it would entail setting up a business model, eg microentrepreneur. So yes, you'd pay cotisations (though to be fair that aspect probably wouldn't work out hugely more expensive than paying CSG does now).

But the deal breaker for me would be the sheer amount of work involved in registering and then reporting turnover (out of all proportion for small traders like us imho), and also having to attend the now compulsory course at the CdC before registering (5 days, I was told, and payant).

The up side would be easy access to health care if that's an issue (especially in a post-Brexit, possibly S1-less world - though there will always be PUMA as a back up option for inactifs)), and having actif rather than inactif status, which might just be an added atout if you're considering naturalisation.
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Blanche
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Post by Blanche »

A five day course? What on earth for?
I finished all that the naturalisation process involves in August and now I just have to wait another year or so to be told the verdict. Meanwhile I am on my best behaviour!
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louloup
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Post by louloup »

The course is a requirement for everyone who wants to start a small business. It is being challenged because it deters people from setting up small businesses. I haven't done it (it wasn't necessary when I registered) but have heard many people complain that most of the content was irrelevant.
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Post by Emmy »

Actually, as far as I'm aware, the 5 day course is run by the Chambre de Metiers - and it's for "artisans". So, if you want to make things to sell, for example, you have to go on the 5 day SPI course... So, we didn't have to do that when we registered our gite business in May this year. (We had to register with the Chambre de Commerce because it's our sole income). We had "help" from the C de C in the Dordogne (because our French isn't yet good enough for form filling) to complete the registration form, but when we saw it afterwards, to be honest it looked very, very straightforward. I think it was just one sheet of paper, in fact.
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Post by Blanche »

Emmy, you're just the person I'm looking for. Did it cost to register? Do you have to submit accounts to the Chamber of Commerce? What difference does it make to you? At the moment I just declare gite income on the usual tax form. Do you still pay taxe d'habitation and taxe foncière on the gite?
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Les Marronniers
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Post by Les Marronniers »

It probably depends on your department, but here in the Creuse we were told in no uncertain terms that we are not a commercial business and we cannot join the Chambre de Commerce. This has had both positive and negative effects on us, but we most certainly are a business in any normal sense - we take money from people and pay our taxes and social charges. I love France, but it can be very frustrating!
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