As Mr Left promised 60.000 more teaching jobs and more spending, 2 weeks after he become Mr President he figured out that these money have to come from somewhere. If he does a measure or cut backs in certain field, he will face burning cars in downtown Paris for 3 days. So, how do you take money from your people without them rebelling? Tax the expatriates! He already made a request to the constitutional court for a new law that will tax the French expats heavily...Get ready to get rid of your French passport...

Wow....France will join the US and Zimbabwe as the stand outs who screw citizens who do not live there. Great job. I know I feel great each year I pay for services I don't use.

Have you any news link to this item at all?

I don't see a problem with this.

Like the septics, they will attempt to dump their former status and passports at the earliest opportunity. Nobody willingly pays tax in 2 countries.

If every country starts doing the "tax the expats", then the whole concepts of "expats" will fade away - nobody will willingly expose themselves to more tax than they need to pay (cue another subthread on Evasion vs Avoidance), so expect more and more to dump their former nationality as one of their first activities in a new country.

Then again, IIRC, they only pay tax on earnings in that country. Earn 0, pay 0 tax, even if you still have to submit a return. Of course, I'm not a septic, so I could be way wrong here. Its the rule in the UK at least.

If you have a French passport, why would you be treated like an expat?

huh?
can you please explain?

Ah...I see now, tax the French who are living abroad. I was thinking you meant tax the expats living in France. Coffee makes everything clearer

I suppose it's easy way to generate revenue, I've already fallen foul of a DTA it's absolutely ridiculous

I have a lot of French colleagues who voted Sarkozy precisely because of Hollande's proposal to tax French expats.
Anyway it brings me to my own personal view that expats shouldn't be allowed to vote in national elections if they no longer pay tax in their countries of origin as its 'representation without taxation'. The South of Spain is full of retired right-wing Brits who believe everything they read in the Daily Mail/Express, refuse to integrate into Spanish culture and yet overwhelmingly vote conservative, UKIP, BNP because they don't have to live with the consequences.

I'd rather them vote conservative than Labour anyday look where that got the UK. On the integration issue a lot of people tend not to integrate just look at the UK they allow people to do as they please.

Full of retired Swiss of the same ilk! I lived in the UK for near on 40 years- and actually didn't have the right to vote when I left CH (1970). I had the right to register for voting in CH later on, but I never did, for exactly the reasons stated Castro. If you do not have to live with the consequences of your choice, you shouldn't have the right to vote.

I think it's fair in saying that if you don't pay tax their you shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Thing is if you pay tax in two countires are there any real benefits?

Its not as easy as move to a new country, change passports. I dont know a country that gives passports within 5 years of living there. Unless you have foreign ancestry like parents its more normal to wait. Assuming they do a similar thing as the US its only French in low tax countries or at least lower than France (aka Switzerland) which will suffer.

Its not a great situation as my wife is American we have the privilege of paying high swiss cost of living, low Swiss taxes, and US taxes on top. No problem with the Swiss situation paying taxes to a country we get no service from is highly irritating.

What I find interesting is when a US person gives up their passport they are asked if they realize they no longer have access to the protection of the US embassy and armed forces. So I guess thats the justification for our taxes. That makes me feel better, NOT.

Yeah, you're missing a big point. If they do it the US way, then individuals are taxed on worldwide income in both countries. If I live in Switzerland, they expect me to pay income taxes even if it's earned from some deal in Dubai. Likewise, the US wants their cut. Given that the French income tax is rather more extreme than the US federal rate, it would get awfully painful for French people living abroad!

And depending where you live, it can be a long time before you can give up your passport (since you essentially need to wait till you have another). Countries like, for example, Switzerland...

Don't you lose the right to vote in UK elections after being resident abroad for a number of years? (10, 15?). That's me lasting impression from reading up about it 10 years or so ago.

(I've paid tax in the UK, but never been able to vote; paid many years of tax in France, but could only vote in local (council) elections and of course in the European Parliament elections).

fine let's not vote then... as if 1/60 000millions would matter, anyway.

Kind of. You have to register yourself. For a while I was registered with my parents and they voted for me in the first general election after I left. After that we just let is slide and I'm no longer registered in the UK.

Personally I just don't want to pay for spongers and layabouts, especially when I know I'll receive no benefit whatsoever for paying tax when I'm out of the couuntry.

I'm not sure about you, but if I ever found myself in trouble in a foreign land, my one and only phone call would be to the British embassy.
To say that we get nothing as British expats is really missing the point, I still care about what happens in Blighty as one day I can see myself moving back.

So...because you are living away (as if it was a crime...) you will not be allowed to vote.

The "locals" can vote, elect someone like the "bottom party" (it's not a left/right/center party): those extremist party decide to apply new laws severely applying on "expats".

-> game over, you got bypassed, could not vote, and yet be directly screwed.

So I don't think a citizen working away, paying away taxes should be considered as an "outlaw" or a frauding criminal.