News Blog Settling in Service By Anita Phillips
Welcome to my News Blog.
Alcohol Breathalyser for French Motorists
The requirement to have a single use breathalyser in cars in France comes into force from July 2012.
From November 2012 fines will be handed out if drivers are not in possession of a kit which conforms to the required standards.
Channel Tunnel To Break Mobile Free Silence
Passengers travelling through the Channel Tunnel will be able to use their mobile phones 250 feet under the seabed from July 2012 after a breakthrough in signal technology.
French Crackdown on Lorry Drivers Watching Films at the Wheel
January 2012 - France has launched a crackdown on lorry drivers who dice with death by watching films behind the wheel - and in one case, cooking a meal on a hotplate at the same time. Last year some 324 drivers were fined for the offence.
The issue has become such a serious traffic hazard that the government has raised the penalties for film-watching truckers from 135 euros (£111) to 1,500 euros (£1,236). The number of licence penalty points lost has increased from two to three.
Auto-entrepreneur turnover threshold to increase in 2012
The auto-entrepreneur’s maximum turnover threshold will slightly increase in 2012. The new levels have just been published but still have to be voted by deputies and senators in the 2012 Loi de finance.
Auto-entrepreneur 2012 turnover threshold:
- 83 200€ for trade, against 81 500€ in 2011
- 33 300€ for services, against 32 600€ in 2011
As per the existing auto-entrepreneur system, you will have a small leeway before your business switches to a different system called réel simplifié and becomes VAT registered.
The maximum turnover before the regime switch are:
- 91 500€ for trade, against 89 600€ in 2011
- Services goes to 35 300€, against 34 600€ in 2011
Capital Gains Tax Reforms Adopted
The French government have toughened the capital gains tax rules on the sale of second homes. The tapered relief over 15 years of ownership is to be extended to 30 years.
The relief will now apply as follows:
- No allowance for the first five years of ownership.
- Between six and seventeen years of ownership: 2% allowance per year.
Bergerac Airport closes for 3 months in 2012
Bergerac’s Roumanière airport is to be closed for 3 months from 9 January until the end of March 2012.
The entire 2.13 kilometre runway is to be re-surfaced following a serious of dangerous fissures in the tarmac. There remains a question mark over how the work is to be funded, given the current crisis in public finances. So far €80,000 has been spent on small repairs since the cracks began to appear two years ago, but the cost of laying the new 8 cm thick runway will be €3.5 million.
