Doing Business in France - RSM International
Doing Business in France - RSM International
Doing Business in France - RSM International
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<strong>Do<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Bus<strong>in</strong>ess</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>
In a world of different<br />
cultures, it’s good to<br />
have advisors who are<br />
consistent everywhere.<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> is one of the largest networks of <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />
audit and consult<strong>in</strong>g firms <strong>in</strong> the world. <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> is<br />
represented <strong>in</strong> 90 countries and br<strong>in</strong>gs together the talents of<br />
32,500 <strong>in</strong>dividuals. <strong>RSM</strong> member firms are driven by a common<br />
vision of provid<strong>in</strong>g high quality professional services to ambitious<br />
and grow<strong>in</strong>g organisations.
Foreword<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong><br />
<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> is a worldwide network of <strong>in</strong>dependent account<strong>in</strong>g and consult<strong>in</strong>g<br />
firms. <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> and its member firms are separate and <strong>in</strong>dependent legal<br />
entities. <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> does not itself provide account<strong>in</strong>g or consultancy services.<br />
All such services are provided by affiliate members practis<strong>in</strong>g on their own account. <strong>RSM</strong><br />
is represented by affiliate <strong>in</strong>dependent members <strong>in</strong> 80 countries and br<strong>in</strong>gs together the<br />
talents of over 32,000 <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> over 700 offices worldwide. The network’s total fee<br />
<strong>in</strong>come of US$3.8bn places it amongst the top six <strong>in</strong>ternational account<strong>in</strong>g organisations<br />
worldwide. Affiliate member firms are driven by a common vision of provid<strong>in</strong>g high quality<br />
professional services, both <strong>in</strong> their domestic markets and <strong>in</strong> serv<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
professional service needs of their client base. <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> is a member of the<br />
Forum of Firms. The objective of the Forum of Firms is to promote consistent and high<br />
quality standards of f<strong>in</strong>ancial and audit<strong>in</strong>g practices worldwide.<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>France</strong>, the French member of <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong>, is a network of <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />
professional services firms provid<strong>in</strong>g audit, account<strong>in</strong>g, tax and consult<strong>in</strong>g services to<br />
local and <strong>in</strong>ternationally active grow<strong>in</strong>g firms and organisations. <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>France</strong> is solidly<br />
represented <strong>in</strong> French regions (currently Paris, Lyon, Nantes and Rouen) and gathers<br />
450 staff and 43 partners. The total fee <strong>in</strong>come (US$62m) places it amongst the top 10<br />
account<strong>in</strong>g organisations <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
Services, tailored to our clients, <strong>in</strong>clude:<br />
• Statutory Audit<br />
• Consolidation and report<strong>in</strong>g under <strong>in</strong>ternational standards (IFRS)<br />
• Outsourc<strong>in</strong>g (account<strong>in</strong>g, social, pay)<br />
• Expatriate management<br />
• Tax<br />
• <strong>International</strong> <strong>Bus<strong>in</strong>ess</strong> Services<br />
• Transaction Services<br />
• Risk Management and Internal Control<br />
Our belief is that we generate last<strong>in</strong>g success by work<strong>in</strong>g closely together and<br />
constantly striv<strong>in</strong>g for excellence.<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 3
Pont Alexandre III, Paris<br />
Previous image: lavender<br />
fields, Provence<br />
Cover image: Louvre, Paris<br />
Buenos Aires
Contents<br />
1 General Information 4<br />
Geography and population 4<br />
Political <strong>in</strong>stitutions 4<br />
Economy 5<br />
2 Types of bus<strong>in</strong>ess organisations 7<br />
Introduction 7<br />
Formation of a company 7<br />
Dissolution and liquidation of bus<strong>in</strong>ess entities 13<br />
The implied trust 14<br />
3 Employment 15<br />
The French labor contract 15<br />
Hir<strong>in</strong>g procedures 16<br />
Profit shar<strong>in</strong>g and share ownership programs 16<br />
Term<strong>in</strong>ation of the employment contract 17<br />
Work<strong>in</strong>g hours 18<br />
The social security system 19<br />
<strong>International</strong> mobility 19<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 3
View from the north bank,<br />
Salzburg<br />
4 Taxation 22<br />
Overview 22<br />
Company taxation 24<br />
Local taxes 37<br />
Incentives 38<br />
Value added tax (VAT) 39<br />
Taxation of <strong>in</strong>dividuals 42<br />
Other taxes 46<br />
5 Account<strong>in</strong>g regulations and standards 49<br />
Reference texts 49<br />
Account<strong>in</strong>g obligations for companies 49<br />
Mandatory account<strong>in</strong>g documents 50<br />
Form and content of f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements 50<br />
Audit<strong>in</strong>g 51<br />
Focus on listed companies 52<br />
Account<strong>in</strong>g and tax audit 52<br />
Adoption of IFRS <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> 53<br />
6 Contacts 54<br />
Buenos Aires
Lake Cap-de-Long <strong>in</strong> Hautes, Pyrenees,<br />
part of a cha<strong>in</strong> of hydro-electric stations<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 5
1 General Information<br />
1.1 Geography and population<br />
<strong>France</strong> is one of the largest countries <strong>in</strong> Europe with an area of about 548,000 square<br />
kilometres (211,200 square miles) and with about 65 million <strong>in</strong>habitants <strong>in</strong> 2012. It<br />
has the lowest population density amongst major Western European Countries (113<br />
people per square kilometre). Paris region has the largest concentration (with about<br />
11 million <strong>in</strong>habitants).<br />
Other large cities <strong>in</strong>clude Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nice, Nantes and<br />
Strasbourg. They are very well connected to Paris with the High Speed Tra<strong>in</strong>s (TGV –<br />
Tra<strong>in</strong>s à Grande Vitesse) and a very efficient highways network. Paris has also some<br />
of Europe’s most important <strong>in</strong>ternational airports (Roissy Charles de Gaulle, Orly,<br />
Nice Côte d’Azur). Major French towns are also serviced by domestic airl<strong>in</strong>es, many<br />
of them hav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational services.<br />
Bordered by Spa<strong>in</strong>, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium,<br />
<strong>France</strong> has always been a centre for <strong>in</strong>ternational trade and commerce. <strong>France</strong> is also<br />
l<strong>in</strong>ked to the United K<strong>in</strong>gdom by the Channel Tunnel.<br />
1.2 Political <strong>in</strong>stitutions<br />
<strong>France</strong> is a Democratic Republic, subdivided adm<strong>in</strong>istratively <strong>in</strong>to 22 regions, 96<br />
departments and 36,000 communes. There are also four overseas regions and<br />
territories known as “DOM-TOM”.<br />
<strong>France</strong> is governed by the 1958 constitution of the 5th Republic, which is a centralized<br />
parliamentary system.<br />
The Executive Branch of Government <strong>in</strong>cludes the President of the Republic, the<br />
head of State (currently François Hollande), elected for five years by direct universal<br />
suffrage and the Prime M<strong>in</strong>ister, head of government and of the Council of M<strong>in</strong>isters.<br />
He is appo<strong>in</strong>ted by the President.<br />
4 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
The legislative branch is composed of the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale),<br />
the lower Chamber and the Senate (Le Sénat). Members of the National Assembly,<br />
the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal legislative body, are elected by universal suffrage every five years<br />
(renewable). Members of the Senate, are elected by <strong>in</strong>direct suffrage for n<strong>in</strong>e years<br />
(renewable third by third every 3 years).<br />
Each region is adm<strong>in</strong>istered by a Regional Council (Conseil Régional) and each<br />
department by a County Council (Conseil Général).<br />
The “Préfet” (a specifically French <strong>in</strong>stitution brought <strong>in</strong> by Napoleon) represents the<br />
central government <strong>in</strong> the department and act as chief adm<strong>in</strong>istrative officer. In the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational context, <strong>France</strong> is a found<strong>in</strong>g member state of the European Union. The<br />
currency is the Euro.<br />
1.3 Economy<br />
<strong>France</strong> is the second largest consumer market <strong>in</strong> Europe after Germany and the fifth<br />
largest economy <strong>in</strong> the world, with a GDP of US$ 2.676 billion (equivalent to €1,986<br />
billion) beh<strong>in</strong>d the USA, Japan, Ch<strong>in</strong>a and Germany.<br />
It has substantial agricultural resources (<strong>France</strong> is the European Union’s lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
agricultural producer), a large <strong>in</strong>dustrial base and a highly skilled labour force.<br />
Services represent 71% of <strong>France</strong> domestic product.<br />
<strong>France</strong> is a lead<strong>in</strong>g country <strong>in</strong> high technology, with a long tradition of <strong>in</strong>novation.<br />
Spend<strong>in</strong>g on R&D represents 2% of Gross Domestic Product (Insee, 2010).<br />
Lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustrial sectors <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> are telecommunications (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g satellites<br />
communication), aerospace and defence, aircrafts, ship build<strong>in</strong>g, pharmaceuticals,<br />
chemicals, construction and civil eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g. Other key sectors <strong>in</strong>clude automobiles,<br />
mach<strong>in</strong>ery, metallurgy, electronics, textile, food process<strong>in</strong>g and tourism.<br />
Despite significant liberalisation over the past 15 years, the government cont<strong>in</strong>ues to<br />
play a significant role <strong>in</strong> the economy. The government cont<strong>in</strong>ues to own shares <strong>in</strong><br />
corporations <strong>in</strong> a range of sectors, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g energy production, telecommunications<br />
and transportation.<br />
The French Economy welcomes foreign <strong>in</strong>vestment. S<strong>in</strong>ce 2007, many reforms <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>France</strong> participated <strong>in</strong> the development of foreign companies <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> by a greater<br />
flexibility of labour law, an improved tax system, the encouragement of <strong>in</strong>novation,<br />
R&D and susta<strong>in</strong>able development. In 2009, about 23000 foreign companies were<br />
do<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, employ<strong>in</strong>g 2.3 million people. (Source: Invest In <strong>France</strong>).<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 5
1.4 Local Customs<br />
The French enjoy 11 national holidays (jours fériés), and, under the law, five weeks of<br />
paid vacations annually. The months of July and August are traditionally when the<br />
French take their holidays.<br />
Public Holiday 2012 2013 2014<br />
New Year’s Day January 1 January 1 January 1<br />
Easter Monday April 9 April 1 April 21<br />
Labour Day May 1 May 1 May 1<br />
1945 Victory Day May 8 May 8 May 8<br />
Ascension May 17 May 9 May 29<br />
Whit Monday (Pentecôte) May 28 May 20 June 9<br />
Bastille Day July 14 July 14 July 14<br />
Assumption August 15 August 15 August 15<br />
All Sa<strong>in</strong>t’s Day November 1 November 1 November 1<br />
Remembrance Day November 11 November 11 November 11<br />
Christmas Day December 25 December 25 December 25<br />
Only Labour Day (May 1st) is a public holiday by statute. The rest of the holidays are<br />
granted by convention collective (agreement between employers’ and employees’<br />
unions) or by agreement of the employer.<br />
6 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
2 Types of bus<strong>in</strong>ess organisations<br />
2.1 Introduction<br />
In <strong>France</strong>, an entrepreneur can choose between two k<strong>in</strong>ds of legal structure: sole<br />
trader (entreprise <strong>in</strong>dividuelle) and partnerships/company (société).<br />
There are two k<strong>in</strong>ds of entities <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, civil (ma<strong>in</strong>ly restricted to either professional<br />
services or real estate activities) and commercial ones (engaged <strong>in</strong> trade or bus<strong>in</strong>esses).<br />
A sole partner may also choose to run a bus<strong>in</strong>ess without creat<strong>in</strong>g a company.<br />
Regard<strong>in</strong>g the partner responsibility, several k<strong>in</strong>ds of commercial companies can be used<br />
as corporate veils <strong>in</strong> order to protect the partners’ personal assets <strong>in</strong> case of bankruptcy.<br />
Depend<strong>in</strong>g on the form of the company, the rules applicable may be different and<br />
cover the follow<strong>in</strong>g subjects:<br />
• Structure of the management and managers’ level of power,<br />
• Shareholders meet<strong>in</strong>g quorum and majority rules,<br />
• M<strong>in</strong>imum capital required,<br />
• Sale of shares to third parties,<br />
• Audit requirements.<br />
2.2 Formation of a Company<br />
Unlike other countries, <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, the rules, rights and obligations are the same for all<br />
companies whether they are French or foreigners.<br />
There are numerous types of company structure which are provided by French<br />
commercial and civil Law, however today the great majority of trad<strong>in</strong>g entities <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>France</strong> have taken the form either of a:<br />
• Entreprise Individuelle - One man bus<strong>in</strong>ess - EIRL<br />
• Société Anonyme (S.A.) - Corporation<br />
• Société à Responsabilité Limitée (S.A.R.L. / E.U.R.L. ) – Limited liability company<br />
• Société par Actions simplifiée (S.A.S. / S.A.S.U.) – Simplified jo<strong>in</strong>t stock company<br />
• Société en non collectif (S.N.C.) – General partnership<br />
• Société civile (S.C) – Civil company<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 7
The corporate veil of SA, SAS and SARL limit the liability of their shareholders to<br />
the amount of their share hold<strong>in</strong>g except for <strong>in</strong>stance <strong>in</strong> case of fraud.These entities<br />
have a legal personality and can have a maximum duration of 99 years (renewable).<br />
Before sett<strong>in</strong>g-up your legal structure, you need to know if you will be a sole partner,<br />
have several partners or just need a representation <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
2.2.1 Sole partner<br />
If there is a sole partner, one of the follow<strong>in</strong>g types of legal structure may be chosen.<br />
2.2.1.1 One-Man <strong>Bus<strong>in</strong>ess</strong><br />
(“Entreprise <strong>in</strong>dividuelle”)<br />
This structure is suitable for small bus<strong>in</strong>esses with a s<strong>in</strong>gle <strong>in</strong>dividual.<br />
This structure is simple as just one person is <strong>in</strong> charge of runn<strong>in</strong>g the bus<strong>in</strong>ess. The<br />
company manager has full power to manage the company and takes decisions alone.<br />
He does not have to file management reports or publish yearly accounts but will have<br />
to close each civil year accounts for tax purposes.<br />
There is no notion of capital. The company assets are <strong>in</strong>termixed with those of the<br />
company manager.<br />
The company manager is responsible for all company debts on all of his own assets.<br />
“Entreprise <strong>in</strong>dividuelle ” is one of the easiest bus<strong>in</strong>ess structure to start <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
But its huge downside is that the entrepreneur is liable on his personal assets for all<br />
debts generated by the bus<strong>in</strong>ess. So, there is no dist<strong>in</strong>ction between the bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
and the entrepreneur.<br />
Therefore, s<strong>in</strong>ce 1st January 2011, the law has <strong>in</strong>troduced a new form called EIRL<br />
which is to protect entrepreneurs and avoid them go<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to personal bankruptcy.<br />
The EIRL would enable to separate the bus<strong>in</strong>ess assets “patrimo<strong>in</strong>e professionnel”<br />
and personal assets “patrimo<strong>in</strong>e personnel”.<br />
Entrepreneurs would therefore be only liable on their bus<strong>in</strong>ess asset <strong>in</strong> the even of<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial difficulties.<br />
8 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
2.2.1.2 Private Limited Company under Sole Ownership<br />
(“Entreprise Unipersonnelle à Responsabilité Limitée, EURL”)<br />
The EURL has a sole partner (an <strong>in</strong>dividual or a company).<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital is 1 €. It may be comprised of contributions <strong>in</strong> cash and/or <strong>in</strong><br />
k<strong>in</strong>d. 20 % of the contributions <strong>in</strong> cash must be paid up when the company is formed,<br />
and the rest with<strong>in</strong> 5 years of the creation of the company.<br />
The EURL is run by a manager. This may be either the sole partner, or a third party.<br />
His appo<strong>in</strong>tment and his powers are set forth <strong>in</strong> the Articles of Incorporation or by<br />
means of a separate legal <strong>in</strong>strument.<br />
The sole partner is responsible for debts only up to the amount of his contributions.<br />
Nonetheless, <strong>in</strong> case of management faults, his responsibility may be extended to<br />
his personal property. The notion of management fault is quite vast: it ranges from<br />
simple negligence or carelessness to fraudulent deal<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />
The appo<strong>in</strong>tment of a statutory auditor is mandatory whenever the company exceeds<br />
2 of the follow<strong>in</strong>g thresholds:<br />
• Balance sheet > 1.55 Million €,<br />
• Yearly pre-tax turnover > 3.1 Million €,<br />
• Average number of employees > 50<br />
2.2.1.3 Simplified jo<strong>in</strong>t stock company under Sole Ownership<br />
(“Société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle”, SASU)<br />
The SASU has a sole partner (an <strong>in</strong>dividual or a company).<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital is 1 €. It is prohibited to go public.<br />
The partner is free to determ<strong>in</strong>e the organizational rules of the company accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the company’s articles. His only obligation is to appo<strong>in</strong>t a president.<br />
The shareholder is only liable for debts up to the amount of his <strong>in</strong>vestment.<br />
The nom<strong>in</strong>ation of an auditor is compulsory, but from the 1st January 2009, if the<br />
SAS is not held by another entity and if the SAS is not exceed<strong>in</strong>g 2 of the 3 follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
thresholds, there is no need to appo<strong>in</strong>t a legal auditor:<br />
• Balance sheet > 1 Million €,<br />
• Yearly pre-tax turnover > 2 Million €,<br />
• Average number of employees > 20.<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 9
2.2.2 Several partners<br />
If there are several partners, one of the follow<strong>in</strong>g types of legal structure may be chosen.<br />
2.2.2.1 Limited Liability Company<br />
(“Société à Responsabilité Limitée, SARL”)<br />
This structure is the most used by small and medium-sized bus<strong>in</strong>esses.<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital is 1 €. It may be comprised of contributions <strong>in</strong> cash and/or <strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d.<br />
20 % of the contributions <strong>in</strong> cash must be paid up when the company is formed, and the<br />
rest with<strong>in</strong> 5 years of the creation of the company.<br />
The capital is owned by 1 or more shareholders (Max.100) that can be <strong>in</strong>dividuals or<br />
legal entities.<br />
The shareholders’ liability is limited to the amount of their contributions.<br />
There is no obligation to appo<strong>in</strong>t a statutory auditor, unless 2 of the 3 follow<strong>in</strong>g thresholds<br />
are exceeded:<br />
• Balance sheet > 1.55 Million €,<br />
• Yearly pre-tax turnover > 3.1 Million €,<br />
• Average number of employees > 50.<br />
2.2.2.2 Corporation<br />
(“Société Anonyme, SA”)<br />
This structure is suitable for large projects and/or public issue.<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital requirement is 37.000 € (if there is no public issue). At least half<br />
of the capital must be paid when form<strong>in</strong>g the company, the rest with<strong>in</strong> 5 years. The<br />
capital may be comprised of contributions <strong>in</strong> cash or <strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d. Contributions <strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d<br />
must necessarily be approved by a Legal Auditor appo<strong>in</strong>ted by the Commercial Court.<br />
This structure needs at least 7 shareholders - <strong>in</strong>dividuals or legal entities.<br />
The shareholders’ liability is limited to the amount of their contributions. The company<br />
is run by a board of Directors, the m<strong>in</strong>imum of 3 and the maximum is 18. The directors<br />
may have to be shareholders.<br />
The appo<strong>in</strong>tment of a legal auditor is mandatory.<br />
10 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
2.2.2.3 Simplified Jo<strong>in</strong> Stock Company<br />
(“Société par Actions Simplifiée, SAS”)<br />
Very flexible, this structure is appreciated for large-scale projects and by <strong>in</strong>vestors.<br />
Such flexibility implies that the partners pay attention to the level of their engagement<br />
and the powers organization.<br />
The partners are <strong>in</strong>dividual or companies.<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital is 1 €. It is prohibited to go public.<br />
The partners are free to determ<strong>in</strong>e the organizational rules of the company accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the company’s articles. Their only obligation is to appo<strong>in</strong>t a president.<br />
The way <strong>in</strong> which collective decisions are adopted is also determ<strong>in</strong>ed freely by the<br />
partners accord<strong>in</strong>g to the company’s articles. That said, it is obligatory to take certa<strong>in</strong><br />
decisions collectively (approval of the accounts, changes to the share capital, etc.).<br />
The shareholders are only liable for debts up to the amount of their <strong>in</strong>vestment. The<br />
liability of the director(s) is, however, much heavier. For example, it may extend to<br />
their personal assets if they have managed the company <strong>in</strong>competently.<br />
The nom<strong>in</strong>ation of an auditor is compulsory. But from the 1st January 2009, if the<br />
SAS is not held by another entity and if the SAS is not exceed<strong>in</strong>g 2 of the 3 follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
thresholds, there is no need to appo<strong>in</strong>t a legal auditor:<br />
• Balance sheet > 1 Million €,<br />
• Yearly pre-tax turnover > 2 Million €,<br />
• Average number of employees > 20.<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 11
2.2.2.4 General Partnership<br />
(“Société en Nom Collectif, SNC“)<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital is 1 €.<br />
This structure must be created with at least 2 partners. The partners have jo<strong>in</strong>t and<br />
unlimited liability. There is no obligation to appo<strong>in</strong>t a legal auditor, unless 2 of the 3<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g thresholds are exceeded:<br />
• Balance sheet > 1.55 Million €,<br />
• Yearly pre-tax turnover > 3.1 Million €,<br />
• Average number of employees > 50.<br />
2.2.2.5 Civil company<br />
(“société civile”)<br />
The m<strong>in</strong>imum capital is 1 €.<br />
The company must have at least two shareholders. This structure must be created<br />
with at least 2 partners. The partners of the company have unlimited liability <strong>in</strong> proportion<br />
of their share ownership.<br />
The activity should not be trad<strong>in</strong>g activity.<br />
Regard<strong>in</strong>g the real estate bus<strong>in</strong>ess, a SCI (Société Civile Immobilière) is generally used to<br />
purchase, sell and rent properties.<br />
Children under eighteen years of age can hold shares <strong>in</strong> the company, provided they<br />
receive separate legal advice about their rights and obligations. It would also be possible,<br />
with<strong>in</strong> the articles of the company, to limit <strong>in</strong> some manner the liability of any m<strong>in</strong>ors <strong>in</strong><br />
the company.<br />
Like any other company the SCI is a separate legal entity from those who own it.<br />
Depend<strong>in</strong>g on how the operation is structured, some tax advantages may be enjoyed<br />
with SCI.<br />
12 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
2.3 Dissolution and liquidation of bus<strong>in</strong>ess entities<br />
Different factors, e.g. retirement, health, divorce, <strong>in</strong>heritance, disputes between<br />
associates, bankruptcy - may cause a bus<strong>in</strong>ess to be wound up.<br />
In <strong>France</strong>, a bus<strong>in</strong>ess can be term<strong>in</strong>ated without government approval.<br />
2.3.1 Term<strong>in</strong>ation- Solvent company<br />
The dissolution of a company can result from the company’s term or from a contractual<br />
dissolution between the partners. It can also be decided by the commercial court either<br />
at the end of a bankruptcy procedure or on the request of one of the partners.<br />
The shareholders are free to organize the conditions of the w<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g up or dissolution.<br />
However, some rules should be respected.<br />
From a tax standpo<strong>in</strong>t, there is an immediate taxation of the profits not yet taxed.<br />
2.3.2 Term<strong>in</strong>ation-Insolvent company / Bankruptcy<br />
2.3.2.1 Insolvency<br />
If a company gets <strong>in</strong>solvent - i.e. it doesn’t have enough money to pay off its debts, the<br />
law makes it an obligation for the manag<strong>in</strong>g executive of the bus<strong>in</strong>ess to file a petition<br />
for Bankruptcy at the commercial court with<strong>in</strong> 15 days of the suspension of payments.<br />
If the executive manager does not comply with this legal obligation of fil<strong>in</strong>g, he may<br />
be exposed to civil or even crim<strong>in</strong>al action (action for the replenishment of liabilities;<br />
personal bankruptcy; prohibition to manage companies).<br />
2.3.2.2 Bankruptcy<br />
If a company defaults on payments, it must open bankruptcy proceed<strong>in</strong>gs by notify<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the office of the commercial court.<br />
Then the commercial court may rule a restructur<strong>in</strong>g plan. Restructur<strong>in</strong>g results <strong>in</strong> an<br />
observation period dur<strong>in</strong>g which the bus<strong>in</strong>ess owner draws up an economic and social<br />
statement and a restructur<strong>in</strong>g plan with the help of an adm<strong>in</strong>istrator or an expert.<br />
This observation period beg<strong>in</strong>s at the request of the bus<strong>in</strong>ess owners of the company or<br />
the creditors of the company.<br />
If the restructur<strong>in</strong>g plan shows that it is impossible for the company to cont<strong>in</strong>ue runn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the bus<strong>in</strong>ess, the court will <strong>in</strong>itiate the receivership procedure. This curtails all bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
activity and allows the firm’s shares and assets to be distributed.<br />
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2.4 The implied trust<br />
The trust is a well-known English mechanism. In very simple terms, it allows the ownership<br />
of an estate to be transferred to a trustee. The trustee manages the estate and <strong>in</strong> turn,<br />
transfers the ownership to a beneficiary.<br />
But the trust <strong>in</strong>stitution does not exist under the French law.<br />
A solution may be to use a very new French <strong>in</strong>stitution: the fiducie.<br />
The fiducie was <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong>to French law <strong>in</strong> 2007. It is <strong>in</strong>tended to be similar to the trust<br />
mechanism, although, as it will be described below, its use is more limited.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce August 2008, the fiducie can be created by an <strong>in</strong>dividual or a legal person.<br />
However, the trustee (“fiduciaire”) can only be a bank, a credit company, or a solicitor. No<br />
such limitations apply to the beneficiary, i.e. anybody can be a beneficiary.<br />
Tax is only due when the estate is transferred to the beneficiary. Therefore the fiducie<br />
has a dist<strong>in</strong>ct tax advantage over the trust.<br />
Furthermore, like a trust, the fiduciaire’s estate is divided <strong>in</strong>to two separate groups:<br />
a personal estate and a “fiducial” estate. This can be very useful <strong>in</strong> the event of a<br />
bankruptcy for example.<br />
Under French law the fiducie contract must be drafted with great care. Some mandatory<br />
clauses must be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the contract; if not the whole operation could be cancelled.<br />
For those reasons, the draft<strong>in</strong>g of a fiducie contract can be more complicated than the<br />
sett<strong>in</strong>g up of a trust.<br />
The fiducie is not used as much <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> as <strong>in</strong> other countries.<br />
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3 Employment<br />
Labor relations are governed by the Labor Code and by <strong>in</strong>dustry-specific collective<br />
barga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g agreements that reflect the practices of each sector.<br />
3.1 The French labor contract<br />
The most common form of employment contract is an open-ended contract (contrat<br />
à durée <strong>in</strong>déterm<strong>in</strong>ée or CDI). In pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, parties are free to write their own<br />
contracts and have a great deal of liberty with regard to content. Contractual clauses<br />
must not be contrary to the French Labor Code or to the <strong>in</strong>dustry-specific collective<br />
barga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g agreement that applies to the employer.<br />
The company’s actual activity, as stated <strong>in</strong> its articles of <strong>in</strong>corporation, determ<strong>in</strong>es<br />
which collective barga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g agreement is applicable.<br />
An employment contract must stipulate the employee’s compensation and job<br />
description, along with the work<strong>in</strong>g hours and place of work.<br />
The contract may also provide for a probationary period, which may be as long as<br />
four months for a managerial post.<br />
Compensation must be at least equal to the m<strong>in</strong>imum wage stipulated by the<br />
applicable collective barga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g agreement and the statutory m<strong>in</strong>imum wage, which<br />
is set at €9.22 gross per hour for 2012, or approximately €1,398 a month on the basis<br />
of a 35-hour work<strong>in</strong>g week. The contract may also provide for additional benefits and<br />
a profit-shar<strong>in</strong>g scheme.<br />
Extra staff can also be hired to meet temporary needs. However, the law restricts the<br />
use of fixed term contracts and temporary agency workers to specific situations and<br />
generally sets an upper limit of 18 months on such arrangements.<br />
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Changes <strong>in</strong> the labor contract<br />
Employers may propose changes to an employee’s contract. Depend<strong>in</strong>g on whether<br />
this <strong>in</strong>volves a substantial change or simply a change <strong>in</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g conditions, it may be<br />
obligatory to obta<strong>in</strong> the employee’s consent.<br />
A change to a contract may relate to an essential component such as pay, qualifications,<br />
and more generally, the work assigned to the employee. In this case, the employer<br />
cannot impose a change to the contract but must propose the change to the employee.<br />
Simple changes to work<strong>in</strong>g conditions may however be imposed by the employer<br />
with<strong>in</strong> the remit of their managerial authority.<br />
3.2 Hir<strong>in</strong>g procedures<br />
A company can start hir<strong>in</strong>g as soon as it has been registered.<br />
The adm<strong>in</strong>istrative formalities <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> hir<strong>in</strong>g employees have been streaml<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
with the <strong>in</strong>troduction of a s<strong>in</strong>gle report<strong>in</strong>g form for newly hired employees (DUE -<br />
Déclaration Unique d’Embauche).<br />
The employer must fill <strong>in</strong> the form <strong>in</strong> the 8-day period before a new employee starts<br />
work and send it to the local URSSAF office. The form can also be submitted on l<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
In addition to the DUE, the follow<strong>in</strong>g is also required:<br />
• declar<strong>in</strong>g to the labor <strong>in</strong>spection the first employee hired;<br />
• affiliation to the complementary retirement funds with<strong>in</strong> 3 months of sett<strong>in</strong>g up the<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess;<br />
• carry<strong>in</strong>g out the required procedures for hir<strong>in</strong>g a foreign member of staff (exclud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
European nationals).<br />
3.3 Profit shar<strong>in</strong>g and share ownership programs<br />
In addition to their wages and salaries, employees and corporate officers may be<br />
offered employee profit-shar<strong>in</strong>g and share-ownership schemes that are attractive for<br />
workers and provide tax and social security benefits for both employees and employer.<br />
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3.4 Term<strong>in</strong>ation of the employment contract<br />
Employment contracts can be term<strong>in</strong>ated at the employee’s <strong>in</strong>itiative (resignation) or<br />
at the employer’s <strong>in</strong>itiative (dismissal). Except dur<strong>in</strong>g probationary periods, employers<br />
must provide real and serious reasons for dismissal, and comply with the legally<br />
prescribed procedures.<br />
The law of June 25, 2008 on moderniz<strong>in</strong>g the labor market establishes a new way of<br />
term<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g an employment contract: ‘rupture conventionnelle’ or agreed term<strong>in</strong>ation.<br />
3.4.1 Economic layoffs<br />
Layoffs can be <strong>in</strong>dividual or collective. Employees must be asked to attend a prelim<strong>in</strong>ary<br />
<strong>in</strong>terview before they are laid off. The head of the company must meet with the works<br />
council and consult with it about collective layoffs.<br />
A “job preservation plan” (plan de sauvegarde de l’emploi or PSE) must be drawn up<br />
when a bus<strong>in</strong>ess with 50 employees or more decides to lay off 10 or more employees <strong>in</strong><br />
a 30-day period. This plan must expla<strong>in</strong> all action taken to avoid the loss of jobs, such<br />
as reorganiz<strong>in</strong>g work, job shar<strong>in</strong>g, redeployment of employees <strong>in</strong>side and outside the<br />
company, etc. The plan must also expla<strong>in</strong> the f<strong>in</strong>ancial terms of the severance package.<br />
It is then submitted to the staff representatives and the labor authorities.<br />
3.4.2 Layoff for misconduct<br />
Personal dismissal procedures can be <strong>in</strong>itiated for misconduct on the part of the<br />
employee or conduct that is not actually misconduct, but nevertheless significantly<br />
harms the company’s <strong>in</strong>terests.<br />
Employees dismissed for personal reasons are entitled to severance pay equal to that<br />
paid for economic layoffs.<br />
Employees are not entitled to severance pay <strong>in</strong> cases of serious misconduct.<br />
3.4.3 Negotiated term<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
An employer and employee may negotiate an end to the employment contract, the<br />
so-called ‘rupture conventionnelle’. The procedure is quite flexible. The employer and<br />
employee sign an agreement <strong>in</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g sett<strong>in</strong>g out the term<strong>in</strong>ation date and conditions<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the payment due to the employee.<br />
These schemes are collective and <strong>in</strong>dividual arrangements are not permitted.<br />
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3.5 Work<strong>in</strong>g hours<br />
Work<strong>in</strong>g hours are to be negotiated with<strong>in</strong> the company.<br />
3.5.1 35-hour week: greater flexibility s<strong>in</strong>ce 2003<br />
Statutory work<strong>in</strong>g hours <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> are 35 hours worked per week. These hours serve<br />
as the basic reference, beyond which overtime is calculated. Overtime hours (heures<br />
supplémentaires) worked <strong>in</strong> excess of statutory work<strong>in</strong>g hours are paid to employees<br />
at 25% more than regular pay (for the first 8 hours, then 50% more) <strong>in</strong> all companies<br />
as from October 1, 2007 (except where a collective agreement provides for a lower<br />
rate, which may not <strong>in</strong> any case be less than 10%).<br />
3.5.2 Major reductions <strong>in</strong> social security contributions<br />
Companies of all sizes and <strong>in</strong> all <strong>in</strong>dustries have been entitled to reductions <strong>in</strong> social<br />
security contributions on low wages s<strong>in</strong>ce 2003. The reductions are calculated<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to the hourly wage rate per employee and per month. They can amount to<br />
26% of gross wages for an employee earn<strong>in</strong>g the statutory m<strong>in</strong>imum wage (SMIC).<br />
Average employer contributions for employees earn<strong>in</strong>g the m<strong>in</strong>imum wage are<br />
between 17 and 19%, depend<strong>in</strong>g on the size of the bus<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
3.5.3 Paid leave<br />
Employees <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> are entitled to five weeks of paid leave. The employer can refuse<br />
to let an employee take paid leave if the workload it is too great. However, employers<br />
must let employees take at least four weeks of paid leave between May 1 and October<br />
31. In addition to paid vacation, there are 10 legal holidays and personal leave days<br />
(marriages, births, deaths).<br />
3.5.4 Without special dispensation, Sunday is a day off<br />
Employees must be given a weekly day of rest last<strong>in</strong>g at least 24 hours on Sunday.<br />
However, there are many exceptions to the Sunday rule. Extra compensation is paid<br />
to employees who work on Sunday and they are still entitled to a weekly day of rest.<br />
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3.6 The social security system<br />
<strong>France</strong>’s health and social security system pays virtually all healthcare costs <strong>in</strong>curred<br />
by the employees and their families.<br />
The system is backed up by compulsory unemployment <strong>in</strong>surance and supplementary<br />
retirement schemes. Employers are free to add other <strong>in</strong>surance coverage to suit their<br />
employees.<br />
The health and retirement benefits for employees compare favorably with those<br />
offered <strong>in</strong> many other OECD member countries.<br />
Social security contributions relieve the company of responsibility <strong>in</strong> case of sickness,<br />
retirement and unemployment.<br />
Employer and employee contributions are collected by URSSAF. The employers’ share<br />
of contributions represents at most 42% of gross wages and the employees’ share<br />
amounts to about 21%.<br />
3.7 <strong>International</strong> mobility<br />
In order to improve <strong>France</strong>’s economic attractiveness, recent laws have placed<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational mobility at the center of <strong>in</strong>novative measures that meet companies’<br />
needs; as such, residence permits valid for several years have been <strong>in</strong>troduced for<br />
the first time, provid<strong>in</strong>g foreign nationals with a complete legal framework.<br />
The extension of the “Skills and Expertise” residence permit to company directors<br />
and the Admission and residence <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> requires a visa, except <strong>in</strong> special cases for<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>ess travelers (accord<strong>in</strong>g to their nationality).<br />
3.7.1 Be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
3.7.1.1 Short-stay <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>: Circulation visa<br />
The circulation visa is a short-stay visa for people who wish to conduct bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
relations <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, without actually resid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the country. The circulation visa is<br />
issued for 1 to 5 years and authorizes stays of up to 90 days per six-month period. To<br />
receive this visa, proof of bus<strong>in</strong>ess activity <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> is required.<br />
3.7.1.2 Long-stay <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
Stays of more than three months require a residence permit specify<strong>in</strong>g the nature of<br />
the stay: Salaried Employee, Scientific Activity, Student, Visitor, etc.<br />
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3.7.2 Work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
In pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, a work permit is required to carry out a salaried professional activity <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>France</strong>. Some residence permits allow residency <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> and also act as work permits<br />
(s<strong>in</strong>gle residence/ work permit), e.g. “Expatriate Employee”, “Employee”, “Temporary<br />
Worker”, “Scientific Activity”, “Student” and the “Skills and Expertise” residence permits.<br />
3.7.2.1 The “Expatriate Employee” temporary residence permit<br />
This is a new residence permit; it concerns employees that are seconded or expatriated<br />
to <strong>France</strong> as part of an <strong>in</strong>tra-company transfer. It is valid for 3 years.<br />
3.7.2.2 The “Employee” temporary residence permit<br />
This type of residence permit is geared towards foreign nationals that are employed <strong>in</strong><br />
companies <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, for a period of one year or more. It is valid for one year and can<br />
be renewed.<br />
3.7.2.3 The “Temporary Worker” residence permit<br />
This type of residence permit is issued to employees admitted to <strong>France</strong> to work for<br />
a period of less than one year. This especially applies to employees seconded by a<br />
foreign company to provide a particular service.<br />
3.7.2.4 The “Scientific Activity” temporary residence permit<br />
This residence permit is issued to foreign nationals who are engaged <strong>in</strong> research<br />
activities or teach<strong>in</strong>g at a university level.<br />
The permit is valid for one year, and can be renewed for a period of one year.<br />
3.7.2.5 The “Student” temporary residence permit<br />
This type of permit is issued to foreign nationals study<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> who are f<strong>in</strong>ancially<br />
self-sufficient.<br />
This type of residence permit is valid for one year.<br />
3.7.2.6 The “Skills and Expertise” residence permit<br />
This is a new multi-year residence permit (3 years). It can be issued to any foreign<br />
national whose skills and expertise contribute <strong>in</strong> a significant and last<strong>in</strong>g way to the<br />
economic development or <strong>in</strong>tellectual, scientific, cultural, humanitarian or sport<strong>in</strong>g<br />
progress of <strong>France</strong>.<br />
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3.7.3 Employee treatment <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
Schonbrunn Palace,<br />
Vienna<br />
Salaried activity <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> is subject to French labor regulations, particularly<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g statutory work<strong>in</strong>g hours, payment of French social security contributions<br />
(<strong>in</strong> the absence of applicable agreements) and equal rights.<br />
3.7.4 Health cover for personnel <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
Your employees may opt for cont<strong>in</strong>ued cover by the health and social security system<br />
<strong>in</strong> their home country if a reciprocal agreement exists between their home country<br />
and <strong>France</strong>.<br />
In the absence of a reciprocal agreement, any salaried employee work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>,<br />
irrespective of their nationality, age or type of employment contract, must be<br />
registered with the French social security system (territorial pr<strong>in</strong>ciple).<br />
<strong>International</strong> agreements and EU regulations provide for exemptions from French<br />
social security contributions.<br />
Nationals of countries which have signed bilateral agreements with <strong>France</strong> may<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> registered with the social security system of their country of orig<strong>in</strong> dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their secondment <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
A secondment is always limited <strong>in</strong> time and at the end of this period the seconded<br />
national must register with the social security system of the host country (<strong>in</strong> this<br />
case, <strong>France</strong>). They can however cont<strong>in</strong>ue to contribute to the social security system<br />
<strong>in</strong> their country of orig<strong>in</strong>; this is called mak<strong>in</strong>g dual contributions.<br />
In practical terms, the employee must supply proof of their registration <strong>in</strong> their<br />
country of orig<strong>in</strong> to be able to benefit from the application of social security bilateral<br />
agreements.<br />
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4 Taxation<br />
4.1 Overview<br />
Companies<br />
Corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax The normal rate of corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax is 33.33%.<br />
An additional 3.3% social contribution is levied on the<br />
portion of corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax that exceeds €763K,<br />
lead<strong>in</strong>g to a total rate of 34.43%.<br />
A temporary 5% exceptional contribution also applies<br />
based on corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax liability for companies<br />
whose turnover exceeds €250,000K, for f<strong>in</strong>ancial years<br />
closed between December 31, 2011 and December 30,<br />
2013.<br />
Small companies with gross revenues of under €7,630K<br />
benefit from a reduced corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax rate of<br />
15%. The reduced rate applies only to the portion of<br />
taxable <strong>in</strong>come that does not exceed €38.12K.<br />
Tax base<br />
Capital ga<strong>in</strong>s<br />
Participation exemption<br />
Territorial (active <strong>in</strong>come) mean<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong>dustrial and<br />
commercial profits are subject to French tax only if they<br />
are earned <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, except when CFC rules applies<br />
Worldwide (passive <strong>in</strong>come, i.e. dividends, <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
payments and royalties)<br />
Short-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s are subject to the standard<br />
corporate tax rate of 33.33% and potentially to<br />
additional contributions above mentioned.<br />
Long-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s derived from disposals of<br />
substantial sharehold<strong>in</strong>gs are tax exempt, except for<br />
a 10% share of expenses, i.e. a 3.3% taxation. Other<br />
long-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s are taxed at 15.5% (notably<br />
ga<strong>in</strong>s deriv<strong>in</strong>g from disposals of patents as well as<br />
royalty fees on patents) or 19% (ga<strong>in</strong>s deriv<strong>in</strong>g from the<br />
sale of shares held <strong>in</strong> listed predom<strong>in</strong>antly real estate<br />
companies).<br />
Yes, specific tax rules apply to dividends received by<br />
French companies that qualify as parent company. If<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> conditions are fulfilled, 95% of the dividends<br />
received from the subsidiary are exempt from<br />
corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax.<br />
In addition, as above mentioned, long-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s<br />
derived from disposals of substantial sharehold<strong>in</strong>gs are<br />
90% tax-exempt under certa<strong>in</strong> conditions.<br />
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Group treatment<br />
Incentives<br />
Anti-avoidance<br />
Turnover taxes<br />
Yes, the 1988 F<strong>in</strong>ance Act provides for a taxconsolidation<br />
regime. When a French parent company<br />
holds at least 95% of the capital and vot<strong>in</strong>g rights of<br />
other French companies, directly or <strong>in</strong>directly by other<br />
French tax-consolidated companies, their profits and<br />
losses can be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the parent company’s tax<br />
results, on which corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax is assessed<br />
Research & Development tax credit<br />
Companies established <strong>in</strong> specific areas<br />
Innovative start-up companies<br />
Video game tax credit<br />
Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g tax credit<br />
Family tax credit<br />
Transfer pric<strong>in</strong>g regulations<br />
Payments made to tax-haven countries<br />
Controlled Foreign Companies rules<br />
Th<strong>in</strong>-capitalization rules<br />
VAT (standard) 19.6%<br />
VAT (reduced) 2.1%<br />
5.5%<br />
7%<br />
Individuals<br />
Income tax rate<br />
Progressive tax rate scale<br />
Top rate at 41% (over €70,830 of <strong>in</strong>come for one share<br />
unit)<br />
Capital ga<strong>in</strong>s The rate of the capital ga<strong>in</strong> tax on real estate is 19%<br />
for French resident (plus 13.50% social surtaxes owed<br />
by French resident only. Where the taxpayer is a non<br />
resident, the rate is 19% for EU Member State residents<br />
and 33% <strong>in</strong> most over case.<br />
The sale of real estate that has been held for more than<br />
30 years is exempt from capital ga<strong>in</strong> tax as well as the<br />
disposal of a taxpayer’s ma<strong>in</strong> residence.<br />
For capital ga<strong>in</strong> realized on securities, <strong>in</strong>come tax is<br />
levied at 19% and social surtaxes apply at 13.5% on<br />
the full ga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Net wealth tax<br />
Inheritance and gift taxes<br />
Yes, the net wealth tax applies to <strong>in</strong>dividuals and is<br />
assessed on the overall net value of a French resident’s<br />
assets exceed<strong>in</strong>g €1,300K on January 1st, 2012.<br />
Nonresident <strong>in</strong>dividuals are liable for wealth tax on<br />
their French assets only (except f<strong>in</strong>ancial assets which<br />
are tax exempt)<br />
Yes, the assets transferred to heirs or legatees are<br />
subject to the payment of registration tax.<br />
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4.2 Company taxation<br />
Any foreign entity do<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> is liable to pay French tax on its earn<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>. This rule applies regardless of the types of entities (subsidiaries, branches<br />
or permanent establishment). Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the territoriality pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, activities that<br />
a French company carries on abroad through a foreign branch are, <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, not<br />
subject to tax <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, except <strong>in</strong> the case where specific CFC rules apply.<br />
4.2.1 Taxable entities<br />
Liability to corporate tax may be either mandatory or optional. The most important<br />
entities subject to mandatory corporate tax liability are corporations (Société<br />
Anonyme, SA), simplified stock companies (Société par Actions Simplifiée, SAS),<br />
limited liability companies (Société à Responsabilité Limitée, SARL) and partnerships<br />
limited by shares (Société en Commandite par Actions, SCA).<br />
General partnership (Société en Nom Collectif, SNC) and silent partnership (Société<br />
En Participation, SEP) are excluded from the scope of corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax but may<br />
become subject to said tax if they so elect.<br />
Civil companies (Société civile, SC) are subject to corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax if they carry<br />
out a commercial activity. Otherwise, they are treated as transparent entities and are<br />
not subject to corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax unless they so elect.<br />
Foreign companies’ branches are, as a rule, subject to corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax.<br />
Entities that are not subject to corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax basically receive partnership<br />
treatment, mean<strong>in</strong>g that, as such, they are not considered as taxable entities. Each<br />
members of the partnership is subject to taxation accord<strong>in</strong>g to the regime applicable<br />
to itself (personal or corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax), on the portion of <strong>in</strong>come it derived from<br />
the entity.<br />
4.2.2 Tax assessment basis<br />
Any <strong>in</strong>come received, whether realized or accrued, needs to be taken <strong>in</strong>to account<br />
when comput<strong>in</strong>g the taxable profits. Apart from the participation exemption on<br />
dividends and capital ga<strong>in</strong>s, there are no significant corporate tax exemptions.<br />
A dist<strong>in</strong>ction must be made between the three ma<strong>in</strong> types of expenses: general<br />
expenses, depreciation and provisions.<br />
24 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
4.2.3 General Expenses<br />
General expenses <strong>in</strong>clude all expenses connected with the day-to-day operations of<br />
the company: purchases of goods and raw materials, salary expenses and related<br />
social security, rent, etc.<br />
As a rule, f<strong>in</strong>ancial expenses <strong>in</strong>curred <strong>in</strong> the normal course of bus<strong>in</strong>ess are deductible<br />
but <strong>in</strong>terest paid to related lend<strong>in</strong>g parties is subject to limitations (please refer to<br />
“th<strong>in</strong>-capitalization” section).<br />
Apart from the corporate tax itself, the most important taxes of the company are<br />
deductible.<br />
Input VAT related to bus<strong>in</strong>ess transactions which is not recoverable can be deducted<br />
for corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax purposes.<br />
It should be noted that some expenses are never deductible, even though they are<br />
<strong>in</strong>curred for the purpose of acquir<strong>in</strong>g and preserv<strong>in</strong>g taxable <strong>in</strong>come, such as : luxury<br />
expenses, enterta<strong>in</strong>ment expenses (e.g. hunt<strong>in</strong>g and fish<strong>in</strong>g), and acquisition and<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>tenance costs of luxury residences and boats.<br />
Penalties and f<strong>in</strong>es are not deductible.<br />
Acquisition costs of participation shares <strong>in</strong>curred by companies subject to corporate<br />
tax must be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the cost price of the participation. The tax deduction of such<br />
costs is, however, spread over a period of 5 years.<br />
Expenses result<strong>in</strong>g from transactions with affiliated nonresident parties are<br />
deductible only where based on the “arm’s-length pr<strong>in</strong>ciple”. This applies, for example,<br />
to purchases from an affiliated company and fees or royalty payments. Management<br />
services are subject to close scrut<strong>in</strong>y from the tax authorities. Therefore, appropriate<br />
substantiat<strong>in</strong>g documentation is required to ensure deductibility (please see transfer<br />
pric<strong>in</strong>g section).<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 25
4.2.4 Depreciation and provisions<br />
French companies must apply the new account<strong>in</strong>g rules on asset amortization and<br />
depreciation to their corporate and consolidated accounts (CRC regulation 2002-<br />
10 of December 12, 2002). This change <strong>in</strong> account<strong>in</strong>g rules has an impact on the<br />
tax treatment of depreciable assets. In particular, the new rules implement the “per<br />
component” depreciation method (méthode d’amortissement par composants).<br />
Under this method, companies must account for and depreciate the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal<br />
components of tangible assets separately when such components must be frequently<br />
renewed, have different uses or provide economic benefits that vary over time.<br />
Based on the French tax rules, the taxpayer may use three ma<strong>in</strong> depreciation<br />
methods to determ<strong>in</strong>e its tax-deductible allowances:<br />
i. The straight-l<strong>in</strong>e depreciation which must be applied to all assets that are<br />
<strong>in</strong>eligible for the other methods mentioned below. As a general pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, straightl<strong>in</strong>e<br />
depreciation rates are computed by divid<strong>in</strong>g the expenditure by the estimated<br />
useful life as determ<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> accordance with the accepted bus<strong>in</strong>ess practice.<br />
ii.<br />
iii.<br />
iv.<br />
The accelerated depreciation (decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g-balance depreciation). This method is<br />
optional and applies only to assets that are new or renovated, have an estimated<br />
useful life of at least 3 years and are not expressly excluded from the scope of<br />
this method.<br />
The exceptional depreciation is optional and applies to assets expressly designated<br />
<strong>in</strong> the French Tax Code (software, energy-sav<strong>in</strong>g equipment, etc.).<br />
Provisions are tax deductible only if certa<strong>in</strong> conditions are fulfilled: (i) the loss<br />
or charge to which the provision applies is specific <strong>in</strong> both its nature and its<br />
amount. Such loss or charge should itself be deductible and clearly identified (ii)<br />
the correspond<strong>in</strong>g loss or charge must be probable and not merely possible, (iii)<br />
the likelihood of the loss or charges should result from the factual situation that<br />
exists at the time the provision was recorded, (iv) the provision must be recorded<br />
<strong>in</strong> the company’s books.<br />
26 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
4.2.5 Controlled Foreign Company (CFC)<br />
Profits made by Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) that are established <strong>in</strong> a low-tax<br />
countries and whose parent company is subject to French corporate tax are subject to<br />
said tax at the French parent company’s level (i) wherever the French company directly<br />
or <strong>in</strong>directly holds more than 50% of the shares <strong>in</strong> the subsidiary and (ii) wherever it<br />
cannot be proven that the subsidiary’s ma<strong>in</strong> activity is truly <strong>in</strong>dustrial or commercial<br />
carried on with non affiliated companies <strong>in</strong> said low-tax country.<br />
Safe-harbor clauses are provided by the French Tax Code <strong>in</strong> particular for CFC<br />
established <strong>in</strong> the European Union.<br />
4.2.6 Transfer pric<strong>in</strong>g<br />
The French Tax Code allows the French Tax Authorities to levy tax on a French enterprise<br />
that transfers profit to a related entity located abroad, if the <strong>in</strong>ter-company transactions<br />
are not carried out at an arm’s-length price.<br />
In addition, the French Tax Authorities are allowed to request <strong>in</strong>formation and<br />
documentation <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g transactions between associated enterprises. In practice, the<br />
French Tax Code provides that if, <strong>in</strong> the context of a tax audit, the French Tax Authorities<br />
have gathered sufficient evidence to presume that the French company transferred<br />
profits abroad, they may require said company to provide the follow<strong>in</strong>g documents and<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation:<br />
i. the features of the commercial relations exist<strong>in</strong>g with foreign affiliated enterprises<br />
with which transfers of profits are deemed to have occurred;<br />
ii.<br />
iii.<br />
iv.<br />
the method used to set the prices of the <strong>in</strong>dustrial, commercial and f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
operations carried out <strong>in</strong> the above affiliated enterprises, as well as evidence<br />
support<strong>in</strong>g this method and potential forms of consideration granted;<br />
the activity carried out by the affiliated enterprises with which transfers of profits<br />
abroad are deemed to have occurred;<br />
the tax treatment applied to the above operations by the foreign affiliated<br />
companies <strong>in</strong> question.<br />
These <strong>in</strong>formation and documentation must be provided to the Tax Authorities with<strong>in</strong><br />
two months after request.<br />
If the company fails to reply or does not provide sufficient <strong>in</strong>formation, a €10K f<strong>in</strong>e may<br />
be <strong>in</strong>curred for each fiscal year <strong>in</strong> question. Moreover, the Tax Authorities may, <strong>in</strong> that<br />
case, calculate the amount of the profit transfer on the basis of any <strong>in</strong>formation they<br />
may have <strong>in</strong> their possession.<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 27
As from January 1st, 2010, companies that meet certa<strong>in</strong> thresholds (notably that<br />
have an annual turnover of at least €400,000K, exclud<strong>in</strong>g tax, or that belong to<br />
a tax-consolidated group which meets the revenue threshold) are required to have<br />
a transfer pric<strong>in</strong>g documentation available to the French Tax Authorities at the<br />
beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of a tax audit or, at least, to provide them with the required documentation<br />
with<strong>in</strong> 30 days upon request.<br />
At last, please note that French law provides for bilateral rul<strong>in</strong>g procedure (Advance<br />
Pric<strong>in</strong>g Agreement, APA) which aims at avoid<strong>in</strong>g the risks of double taxation and to<br />
provide a French entity with a guarantee that the Tax Authorities will not challenge<br />
its transfer pric<strong>in</strong>g policy.<br />
4.2.7 Withhold<strong>in</strong>g taxes, <strong>International</strong> agreements & European Union regulations<br />
4.2.7.1.1 Withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax on dividends<br />
From a domestic standpo<strong>in</strong>t, dividends paid by a French company to its foreign<br />
parent company are <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>ciple subject to a 25% withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax.<br />
However, this tax can be reduced or elim<strong>in</strong>ated when a tax treaty applies (please see<br />
§ 5.2.8.1.6).<br />
In addition, dividends paid to parent companies established <strong>in</strong> an EU Member State<br />
are exempt from said withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax under certa<strong>in</strong> conditions. In particular, the<br />
parents must hold directly at least 10% of the share capital and the vot<strong>in</strong>g rights of<br />
the subsidiary cont<strong>in</strong>uously for at least 2 years.<br />
In addition, as from March 1, 2010, dividends paid to an entity established <strong>in</strong> a noncooperative<br />
country / territory are subject to a 50% withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax (please see<br />
below the list of countries concerned updated as of January 1st, 2011):<br />
Anguilla<br />
Belize<br />
Brunei<br />
Costa Rica<br />
Dom<strong>in</strong>ica<br />
Grenada<br />
Guatemala<br />
Cook Islands<br />
Marshall Islands<br />
Liberia<br />
Montserrat<br />
Nauru<br />
Niue<br />
Panama<br />
The Philipp<strong>in</strong>es<br />
Oman<br />
Iles Turques-et-Caïques<br />
Sa<strong>in</strong>t V<strong>in</strong>cent and the Grenad<strong>in</strong>es<br />
28 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
4.2.7.1.2 Withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax on <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
Up until March 1, 2010, <strong>in</strong>terest paid by French companies to foreign companies was,<br />
<strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, subject to a withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax of 18%. However, most of the <strong>in</strong>terest was<br />
exempted under specific provisions of the French Tax Code.<br />
As from March 1, 2010, only the <strong>in</strong>terest paid by French companies to entities established<br />
<strong>in</strong> a non-cooperative country / territory (please see the list above) is subject to a<br />
withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax, at an <strong>in</strong>creased rate of 50%.<br />
Interest paid to entities established <strong>in</strong> other countries is exempt from a domestic<br />
standpo<strong>in</strong>t.<br />
4.2.7.1.3 Withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax on royalties<br />
Royalties paid by French companies to foreign companies are, <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, subject to<br />
a withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax of 33,33%. This rate can be reduced or elim<strong>in</strong>ated when a tax treaty<br />
applies.<br />
As from March 1, 2010, this rate is <strong>in</strong>creased to 50% for royalties paid by French<br />
companies to entities established <strong>in</strong> a non-cooperative country / territory (please see<br />
the list above).<br />
In addition, outbound royalty payments are exempt from the 33.33% withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax<br />
provided that the beneficial owner of the payment is an “associated company” (accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to EU requirements) and is resident <strong>in</strong> an EU Member State. In particular, a m<strong>in</strong>imum<br />
hold<strong>in</strong>g of 25% <strong>in</strong> the capital of the pay<strong>in</strong>g entity is necessary.<br />
4.2.7.1.4 Withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax on foreign companies’ branches <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
Foreign companies’ French branches are subject to corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax. In addition,<br />
for French tax purposes, such branches’ after-tax profits are deemed to be distributed<br />
to the foreign company’s shareholders. Therefore, a 25% withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax applies to<br />
their after-tax profits. The French branches of companies established <strong>in</strong> EU Member<br />
States are, however, exempt from said withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax.<br />
In addition, the above rate can be reduced or elim<strong>in</strong>ated when a tax treaty applies<br />
or when evidence can be provided that the foreign company has distributed no<br />
dividends. It can also be elim<strong>in</strong>ated on any distributions that the foreign company<br />
makes to French residents.<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 29
4.2.7.1.5 <strong>International</strong> agreements and EU regulations<br />
The follow<strong>in</strong>g table lists the rates of French withhold<strong>in</strong>g taxes that apply to outbound<br />
dividends, <strong>in</strong>terest and royalties pursuant to tax treaties signed by <strong>France</strong> and EU<br />
Directives where applicable.<br />
Dividends Interest Royalties<br />
Share ownership of:<br />
25% or<br />
more<br />
15% or<br />
more<br />
10% or<br />
more<br />
Less than<br />
10%<br />
Copyright<br />
Others<br />
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)<br />
Albania 5 15 15 15 10/0 2 5 5<br />
Algeria 5 5 5 15 0/10 5 10<br />
Argent<strong>in</strong>a 15 15 15 15 20/0 2 18 18<br />
Armenia 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 5 10<br />
Australia 15 15 15 15 10 10 10<br />
Austria 0 0 0 15 0 0 0<br />
Azerbaijan 10 10 10 10 10/0 2 5 10<br />
Bahra<strong>in</strong> 0 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
Bangladesh 10 10 10 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Belgium 0 3 0 3 0 3 15 10/0 4 0 0<br />
Ben<strong>in</strong> 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 18 5 0 0<br />
Bolivia 15 15 15 15 15/0 2 15 15<br />
Botswana 5 12 12 12 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Brazil 15 15 15 15 15/10 2 10 15/25 6<br />
Bulgaria 0 3 0 3 15 15 0 5 4 5 4<br />
Burk<strong>in</strong>a Faso 25 5 255 25 5 25 5 18 5 0 0<br />
Cameroon 15 15 15 15 15/0 2 0 15<br />
Canada 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 10/0 7 10/0 7<br />
Central African Rep. 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 18 5 0 0<br />
Chile 15 15 15 15 15/5 2 5/10 8 5/10 8<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a (People’s Republic<br />
of)<br />
10 10 10 10 10/0 2 10 9 10 9<br />
Congo 15 15 15 20 0 15 15<br />
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Croatia 0 0 0 15 0 0 0<br />
Cyprus 0 3 0 3 0 3 15 10/0 10 5 4 0<br />
Czech Republic 0 03 03 10 0 0 5/10 4<br />
Ecuador 15 15 15 15 15/10 2 15 15<br />
Egypt 0 0 0 0 15/0 2 15 15<br />
Estonia 03 03 03 15 10/0 10 104 5/104<br />
Ethiopia 10 10 10 10 5 2 7.5 7.5<br />
F<strong>in</strong>land 0 0 0 0 10/0 10 0 0<br />
Gabon 15 15 15 15 10/0 2 0 10<br />
Germany 0 0 0 15 0 0 0<br />
Ghana 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Greece 0 3 0 3 0 3 25 0 5 4 5 4<br />
Gu<strong>in</strong>ea 15 15 15 15 10/0 2 0 10<br />
Hungary 0 3 0 3 0 3 15 0 0 0<br />
Iceland 5 5 5 15 0 0 0<br />
India 10 10 10 10 10 0 0<br />
Indonesia 10 15 15 15 15/10/0 2 10 10<br />
Iran 15 20 20 20 15/0 2 0/10 0/10<br />
Ireland 0 3 0 3 15 15 0 0 0<br />
Israel 5 5 5 15 10/5/0 2 0 10<br />
Italy 03 03 03 15 10/0 2 0 5/0 4<br />
Ivory Coast 15 15 15 15 15/0 0 10<br />
Jamaica 10 10 10 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Japan 0 0 5 10 10/0 2 0 0<br />
Jordan 5 5 5 15 15/0 2 5 15/20<br />
Kazakhstan 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Korea (Republic of) 10 10 10 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Kuwait 0 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
Latvia 0 3 0 3 0 3 15 10/0 10 10/0 4 10/5/0 4<br />
Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 33⅓ 33⅓<br />
Libya 5 5 5 10 0 0 10<br />
Lithuania 03 03 03 15 10/0 10 10/0 4 10/5/0 4<br />
Luxembourg 03 03 03 15 10/04 0 0<br />
Madagascar 15 25 25 25 15 2 10 15<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 31
Malaysia 5 5 5 15 15/10 2 33⅓ 10<br />
Mali 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 185/10 2 0 0<br />
Malta 03 03 03 15 10/0 10 0 10/04<br />
Mauritania 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 185/10 2 0 0<br />
Mauritius 5 5 5 15 185/0 2 0 15<br />
Mayotte 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 0 0 0<br />
Mexico 0 0 0 5 10/5/0 2 0 10<br />
Mongolia 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 0 5<br />
Morocco 1511 1511 1511 1511 15/10 2 5 10<br />
Namibia 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 0 10<br />
Netherlands 03 03 03 15 10/0 10 0 0<br />
New Caledonia 5 5 5 5 0 0 10<br />
New Zealand 15 15 15 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Niger 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 185/10 2 0 0<br />
Nigeria 15 15 15 15 12.5/0 2 12.5 12.5<br />
Norway 0 0 0 15 0 0 0<br />
Oman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
Pakistan 10 10 10 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Philipp<strong>in</strong>es 10 10 10 15 15/10/0 2 15 15<br />
Poland 0 3 0 3 0 3 15 0 0 10/0 4<br />
Portugal 0 3 0 3 15 15 12/10/0 10 5 5<br />
Qatar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
Romania 03 03 03 10 10/0 10 10/0 4 10/0 4<br />
Russia 15/10 12 15/10 12 15/10 12 15/10 12 0 0 0<br />
St Pierre and Miquelon 5 5 5 5 0 0 10<br />
Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
Senegal 15 15 15 15 15/0 2 0 0<br />
S<strong>in</strong>gapore 10 10 10 15 10/0 2 33⅓ 0<br />
Slovakia 0 3 0 3 0 3 10 0 0 5/0 4<br />
Slovenia 0 3 0 3 0 3 25 5/0 10 0 5/0 4<br />
South Africa 5 5 5 15 0 0 0<br />
Spa<strong>in</strong> 0 0 0 15 10/0 10 0 5/0 4<br />
Sweden 0 0 0 15 0 0 0<br />
32 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
Switzerland<br />
resident control13<br />
non-resident<br />
control13<br />
0 0 0 15 0 5 5<br />
15 15 15 15 0 5 5<br />
Togo 10 10 10 15 10/0 2 10 0<br />
Tr<strong>in</strong>idad and Tobago 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 12/10/0 2 5 15/20<br />
Tunisia 15 15 15 15 15/0 2 5 15/20<br />
Turkey 5 5 5 15 10/0 2 10 0<br />
Ukra<strong>in</strong>e 0 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
United Arab Emirates 0 0 5 15 0 0 0<br />
United K<strong>in</strong>gdom 0 3 0 3 0 3 15 0 0 5<br />
United States of America 5 14 5 5 15 5/0 2 0 5<br />
Uzbekistan 0 0 0 5 5/0 2 5 5<br />
Venezuela 5 5 5 15 0 10 10<br />
Vietnam 5 15 15 15 0 0 0<br />
(former) Yugoslavia 10 15 15 15 10/0 2 10 10<br />
Zimbabwe 10 15 15 15 10 2 10 10<br />
Footnotes:<br />
1. General withhold<strong>in</strong>g tax exemption for bonds issued <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> and held by non-residents,<br />
except for very limited specific cases.<br />
2. Nil or reduced rate for specific loans detailed by the tax treaty.<br />
3. Nil under the EU parent/subsidiary directive on dividends: share ownership of 10% or more<br />
held for at least two years by corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax liable entities.<br />
4. Nil under the EU parent/subsidiary directive on <strong>in</strong>terest and royalties: share ownership of 25%<br />
or more for <strong>in</strong>terest paid to direct parent company, direct subsidiary or sister company<br />
5. French domestic rate <strong>in</strong> the absence of a tax treaty reduced rate.<br />
6. 25% for trademark royalties.<br />
7. 10% for trademark royalties.<br />
8. 5% for royalties concern<strong>in</strong>g the use of scientific, commercial or <strong>in</strong>dustrial equipment.<br />
9. Leas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>come qualifies as royalties and is taxed at 6% pursuant to the <strong>France</strong>-Ch<strong>in</strong>a tax<br />
treaty.<br />
10. Nil or reduced rate for specific loans detailed by the tax treaty. Nil under the EU parent/<br />
subsidiary directive on <strong>in</strong>terest and royalties: share ownership of 25% or more for <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
paid to direct parent company, direct subsidiary or sister company.<br />
11. Nil where the dividends are taxable <strong>in</strong> Morocco.<br />
12. The tax treaty def<strong>in</strong>es as a parent company benefit<strong>in</strong>g from the 10% reduced rate a company<br />
hold<strong>in</strong>g an ownership of €76,224.51 or more, whatever the percentage held.<br />
13. The specific conditions to qualify as resident control or non-resident control are def<strong>in</strong>ed by<br />
the tax treaty.<br />
14. The zero rate applies if the US company has owned directly or <strong>in</strong>directly at least 80% of the<br />
capital of the French company for at least 12 months.<br />
DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE | 33
4.2.8 Capital ga<strong>in</strong>s taxation on the sale of shares<br />
4.2.8.1.1 Participation exemption<br />
Long-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s derived from disposals of substantial sharehold<strong>in</strong>gs are taxexempt,<br />
except for a 10% share of expenses, lead<strong>in</strong>g to an effective tax rate of 3,33%.<br />
4.2.8.1.2 Reduced capital ga<strong>in</strong>s taxation<br />
Long-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s derived from the disposal of substantial sharehold<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> listed<br />
French predom<strong>in</strong>antly real estate companies are taxed at 19%.<br />
Other long-term capital ga<strong>in</strong>s are taxed at 15.5% (notably ga<strong>in</strong>s deriv<strong>in</strong>g from disposals<br />
of patents as well as royalty fees on patents).<br />
Capital ga<strong>in</strong>s on shares <strong>in</strong> non-listed real estate companies are taxed at the rate of<br />
33.33%.<br />
4.2.9 Th<strong>in</strong> capitalization rules<br />
From January 1, 2007, all loans that French companies receive from “associated<br />
companies” are subject to th<strong>in</strong>-capitalization rules.<br />
Two companies are “associated companies” if (a) one of them has a direct or <strong>in</strong>direct<br />
m<strong>in</strong>imum hold<strong>in</strong>g of 50% <strong>in</strong> the capital of the other or controls the other company de<br />
facto or (b) a third company has a direct or <strong>in</strong>direct m<strong>in</strong>imum hold<strong>in</strong>g of 50% <strong>in</strong> the<br />
capital of the two companies or exercise a control de facto over the two companies.<br />
The th<strong>in</strong>-capitalization mechanism provides for two limits to the tax deductibility of <strong>in</strong>tragroup<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest.<br />
Firstly, <strong>in</strong>terest paid to another company of the same group is tax-deductible at a rate<br />
limited to the annual average effective rate that credit <strong>in</strong>stitutions offer companies for<br />
variable <strong>in</strong>terest rate loans with an <strong>in</strong>itial term of at least two years (based on average<br />
quarterly rates published <strong>in</strong> the Journal Officiel). For calendar year 2011, the maximum<br />
tax deductible rate was 3.99% (for 2010, 3.82%).<br />
Nevertheless, a higher rate is accepted if it corresponds to that which the borrow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
company could have obta<strong>in</strong>ed from unrelated f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>in</strong> similar<br />
circumstances.<br />
34 | DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
Secondly, if the amount of <strong>in</strong>terest paid dur<strong>in</strong>g a given fiscal year meets the follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
3 conditions simultaneously, a portion of the <strong>in</strong>terest must be added back <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
borrow<strong>in</strong>g company’s taxable <strong>in</strong>come.<br />
• the overall <strong>in</strong>debtedness (related party debt-to-equity ratio) exceeds 1.5 to 1. This<br />
ratio is determ<strong>in</strong>ed by compar<strong>in</strong>g the loans from associated companies with the<br />
equity capital of the borrower;<br />
• the total amount of <strong>in</strong>terest paid to associated companies exceeds 25% of the pretax<br />
profits, adjusted for <strong>in</strong>tra-group loan <strong>in</strong>terest and the depreciation considered<br />
to determ<strong>in</strong>e said pre-tax operat<strong>in</strong>g result;<br />
• the amount of <strong>in</strong>terest paid to associated companies is higher than the amount of<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest received from such companies.<br />
Interest exceed<strong>in</strong>g the higher of the above limits is not tax deductible (unless the excess<br />
portion is less than €150,000) but can be carried forward with<strong>in</strong> certa<strong>in</strong> limits.<br />
Nevertheless, the limitation mechanism will not apply if the borrower can prove that<br />
its rate of <strong>in</strong>debtedness is less than or equal to the overall rate of the group to which it<br />
belongs.<br />
Moreover, specific th<strong>in</strong>-capitalization rules are applicable to tax-consolidated companies.<br />
4.2.10 National and world tax consolidation<br />
The <strong>in</strong>come of a group of companies may be consolidated under two different regimes:<br />
the national tax consolidation and the world tax consolidation.<br />
4.2.10.1 National tax consolidation<br />
When a French parent company (or a foreign company’s French branch if said branch is<br />
subject to corporate tax <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>) holds, from the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the fiscal year, at least<br />
95% of the capital and vot<strong>in</strong>g rights of other companies, the subsidiaries may be treated,<br />
for tax purposes, as the parent company’s branch. Their profits or losses are then<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the parent company’s tax results, on which corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax is assessed.<br />
To benefit from this tax treatment, the French company (or branch) and its taxconsolidated<br />
subsidiaries must file an election for this regime, which will be b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for 5 f<strong>in</strong>ancial years. The election for tax consolidation is renewed automatically for<br />
subsequent 5-year periods except if the head company expressly renounces the option<br />
for the tax consolidation.<br />
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In addition, any subsidiary member of the tax-consolidated group must be at least 95%<br />
held, directly or <strong>in</strong>directly, by other French tax-consolidated companies, eve through a<br />
foreign EU subsidiary or permanent establishment for f<strong>in</strong>ancial years end<strong>in</strong>g as from<br />
December 31, 2009.<br />
Specific adjustments are made for the determ<strong>in</strong>ation of the consolidated tax result.<br />
Waivers of debt as well as direct and <strong>in</strong>direct subsidies are neutralized <strong>in</strong> a taxconsolidated<br />
group by (i) add<strong>in</strong>g the waived sums or subsidies back <strong>in</strong>to the results of<br />
the company grant<strong>in</strong>g the waiver or subsidy and (ii) deduct<strong>in</strong>g said sums from the results<br />
of the company benefit<strong>in</strong>g from such advantages.<br />
Any dividends that subsidiaries pay to other group members are neutralized. The 5%<br />
service charge applicable <strong>in</strong> the event of a distribution to a parent company is neutralized<br />
if the distribut<strong>in</strong>g company has been a member of the group for more than one year.<br />
In addition, accord<strong>in</strong>g to specific provisions, called Amendement Charasse rule, f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
costs that a group <strong>in</strong>curs to purchase shares <strong>in</strong> a company already controlled by related<br />
company is not tax-deductible if the company whose shares are purchased becomes<br />
a member of the tax-consolidated group. The non-deductible amount is the portion<br />
of the group’s f<strong>in</strong>ancial charges that is equal to the ratio of the purchase price of the<br />
shares to the total average of the group’s debt. Said provisions do not apply, however,<br />
when “associated companies” purchase the shares from unrelated parties <strong>in</strong> order<br />
to immediately place them under a related French entity or when the share transfer<br />
is carried out between companies <strong>in</strong> a tax-consolidated group. When the purchased<br />
company leaves the group, the added-back of <strong>in</strong>terest ceases.<br />
If a tax-consolidated company ceases to be a member of the group, the consequences<br />
are <strong>in</strong> particular as follows: (i) the depart<strong>in</strong>g company’s taxable result is not <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong><br />
the group’s taxable result for the f<strong>in</strong>ancial year of the departure, (ii) <strong>in</strong>direct subsidies<br />
result<strong>in</strong>g from transfers of fixed assets at price lower than their fair market value are<br />
added-back <strong>in</strong>to the taxable result for the year of departure of the company benefit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from such transactions (iii) the other subsidies and waivers of debt are added back <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the taxable result for the year of the departure of the company receiv<strong>in</strong>g or pay<strong>in</strong>g them,<br />
but only where they have been deducted from the group’s taxable result <strong>in</strong> one of the<br />
five years preced<strong>in</strong>g the departure.<br />
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4.2.10.2 World tax consolidation<br />
Resident companies may be authorized to consolidate their <strong>in</strong>come by either (a)<br />
aggregat<strong>in</strong>g their <strong>in</strong>come with that of their domestic and foreign operations, or (b)<br />
consolidat<strong>in</strong>g their <strong>in</strong>come with that of domestic and foreign subsidiaries <strong>in</strong> which they<br />
hold 50% or more of the vot<strong>in</strong>g rights.<br />
Rectificative F<strong>in</strong>ance Bill for 2011 repealed the world tax consolidated regime for f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
years closed as from September 6, 2011.<br />
4.3 Local taxes<br />
4.3.1 Local economic contribution<br />
The Local Economic Contribution (here<strong>in</strong>after the “CET”) is applicable to all<br />
companies and branches. In addition, <strong>in</strong>dividuals and legal entities engaged <strong>in</strong> the<br />
leas<strong>in</strong>g and subleas<strong>in</strong>g of build<strong>in</strong>gs (other than unfurnished residential build<strong>in</strong>gs) are<br />
also subject to the CET.<br />
The CET is composed of the two follow<strong>in</strong>g parts:<br />
i. A Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises, assessed on the rental value of assets<br />
subject to property tax. The rental value of <strong>in</strong>dustrial facilities as determ<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to the account<strong>in</strong>g method may benefit from a 30% deduction;<br />
ii.<br />
A Cotisation sur la Valeur Ajoutée, assessed on the value added generated<br />
by the bus<strong>in</strong>ess. The value added taken <strong>in</strong>to account may not exceed 80% of<br />
the company’s annual revenue (85% if the revenue exceeds €7,600K). The<br />
contribution is assessed on the value added at rates that vary accord<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />
annual revenue, from a m<strong>in</strong>imum of 0.5% of the added value for turnover of up<br />
to €500K to a maximum of 1.5% of the value added for turnover of more than<br />
€50,000K.<br />
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4.3.2 Tax on undeveloped and developed property<br />
The tax on undeveloped property (taxe foncière sur les propriétés non bâties) is due<br />
from owners of undeveloped land. It is based on a “cadastral value” determ<strong>in</strong>ed by<br />
the land registry office multiplied by a coefficient that is determ<strong>in</strong>ed yearly by the<br />
local municipality. The tax is assessed on the net cadastral value, which is 80% of the<br />
total cadastral value.<br />
The tax on developed property (taxe foncière sur les propriétés bâties) is assessed <strong>in</strong><br />
a manner similar to the tax on undeveloped land, i.e. on the net cadastral value, which<br />
for this purpose is one-half of the cadastral value stated <strong>in</strong> the local municipality’s<br />
official records. This one-half base reduction is deemed to take <strong>in</strong>to account the<br />
expenses of depreciation, <strong>in</strong>surance, ma<strong>in</strong>tenance, etc.<br />
4.4 Incentives and special deduction<br />
4.4.1 Exemptions from corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax<br />
(i) Companies established <strong>in</strong> Urban Free Zones (UFZs)<br />
Companies conduct<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess activity (with the exception of certa<strong>in</strong> specific<br />
activities) and created <strong>in</strong> a UFZ between January 1st, 2006 and December 31, 2014<br />
may benefit from a corporate tax exemption dur<strong>in</strong>g their first five years and from a<br />
decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g exemption dur<strong>in</strong>g the follow<strong>in</strong>g 3 years (9 years if there are fewer than 5<br />
employees). The taxable profit eligible for the UFZ exemption is capped at €100K per<br />
twelve-month period. The excess is subject to corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax.<br />
(ii) Companies established <strong>in</strong> Zones de Restructuration de la Défense (ZRD)<br />
From January 1st, 2009, companies that set up a bus<strong>in</strong>ess activity (with the exception<br />
of certa<strong>in</strong> specific activities) <strong>in</strong> a ZRD, a zone previously used for national defense<br />
activities, benefit from an exemption from corporate tax on their <strong>in</strong>come deriv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from their activity realized <strong>in</strong> the ZRD. This exemption is equal to 100% over the<br />
first 5 years, 2/3 dur<strong>in</strong>g the 6th year, 1/3 dur<strong>in</strong>g the 7th year. The ZRD <strong>in</strong>come tax<br />
exemption is capped accord<strong>in</strong>g to the “de m<strong>in</strong>imis” and “State aid” regulations.<br />
(iii) Innovative start-up companies<br />
From January 1st, 2004, small and midsize companies (fewer than 250 employees,<br />
annual revenue < €50,000K or balance sheet totals < €43,000K) that are less than<br />
8 years old and that have annual R&D expenses exceed<strong>in</strong>g 15% of their overall taxdeductible<br />
expenses may benefit from a three-year corporate tax exemption and<br />
a 50% rebate for the follow<strong>in</strong>g two years. The corporate <strong>in</strong>come tax exemption is<br />
capped accord<strong>in</strong>g to the “de m<strong>in</strong>imis” and “State aid” regulations.<br />
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4.4.2 Research and development (R&D) tax credit<br />
The R&D tax credit is computed on the portion of eligible expenses <strong>in</strong>curred dur<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
calendar year. The applicable rate is 30% for the portion of the R&D expenses below<br />
€100,000K and reduced to 5% for the portion exceed<strong>in</strong>g €100,000K. Higher rates<br />
apply, for a two-year period, to both newly created companies and companies that<br />
have not benefited from the R&D tax credit <strong>in</strong> the previous five years (40% for the<br />
first year, 35% the second).<br />
In order to compute the R&D tax credit, qualify<strong>in</strong>g R&D expenses <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong> particular:<br />
(i) payroll expenses and depreciation allowances for equipment directly <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong><br />
carry<strong>in</strong>g out R&D programs, (ii) expenses relat<strong>in</strong>g to the registration, ma<strong>in</strong>tenance<br />
and defense of patents, (iii) depreciation allowance of patents acquired from third<br />
parties, (iv) expenses for research entrusted to public or private <strong>in</strong>stitutions,<br />
universities, and technical centers, (v) expenses relat<strong>in</strong>g to R&D activities carried out<br />
<strong>in</strong> the EU, Iceland and Norway.<br />
4.5 Value added tax (VAT)<br />
4.5.1 Taxable persons and transactions<br />
All entrepreneurs, i.e. persons mak<strong>in</strong>g taxable supplies of goods and services <strong>in</strong> the<br />
course of a bus<strong>in</strong>ess, are taxable persons for VAT purposes. Importation of goods<br />
is also subject to VAT, regardless of the type of the importer. However, small and<br />
medium-sized enterprises with a small turnover are exempt but may elect to become<br />
taxable persons.<br />
Unless expressly exempt, all supplies of goods and services, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tra-<br />
Community acquisitions and self-supplies, made <strong>in</strong> the course of a bus<strong>in</strong>ess, are<br />
subject to VAT.<br />
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4.5.2 Rates<br />
The standard VAT rate is 19.6%. A reduced VAT rate of 5.5% applies to most food<br />
products, takeaway food, hotels, gas and electricity delivery services, art works and<br />
products used <strong>in</strong> agriculture. A special reduced VAT rate of 2.1% applies ma<strong>in</strong>ly to<br />
major medic<strong>in</strong>e products and to newspaper sales. The follow<strong>in</strong>g goods and supplies,<br />
among others, are exempt from VAT:<br />
• goods which are exported from <strong>France</strong>,<br />
• goods which are delivered from <strong>France</strong> to another EU state,<br />
• nurs<strong>in</strong>g and medical services,<br />
• educational services,<br />
• some f<strong>in</strong>ancial services.<br />
4.5.3 Registration, fil<strong>in</strong>g obligations & formal requirements concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>voices<br />
4.5.3.1 Registration<br />
There is no VAT registration threshold for resident and non-resident bus<strong>in</strong>esses.<br />
Resident bus<strong>in</strong>esses or permanent establishments of non-resident bus<strong>in</strong>esses should<br />
register with the Enterprises Formalities Centre <strong>in</strong> which the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple bus<strong>in</strong>ess is<br />
established with<strong>in</strong> 15 days after the start of the bus<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
4.5.3.2 Fil<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
Monthly or quarterly forms must be filed. If the collected VAT is higher than the<br />
<strong>in</strong>curred VAT, a payment must be made <strong>in</strong> the same time of the declaration. A 10%<br />
f<strong>in</strong>e is applied <strong>in</strong> case of late payments.<br />
4.5.3.3 Invoices<br />
Taxpayers must issue <strong>in</strong>voices immediately upon the supply of goods and services.<br />
There are no tax specific <strong>in</strong>voic<strong>in</strong>g requirements for export transactions. The specific<br />
tax <strong>in</strong>voic<strong>in</strong>g requirement for EU transactions is that the <strong>in</strong>voice must conta<strong>in</strong> the<br />
VAT identification number of the client and a reference to the French Tax Code when<br />
the operation is VAT exempt.<br />
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La Défense - the ma<strong>in</strong><br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess district <strong>in</strong> Paris<br />
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4.6 Taxation of <strong>in</strong>dividuals<br />
4.6.1 Personal <strong>in</strong>come tax<br />
This tax applies to each family unit and is progressive.<br />
The taxable period is the calendar year. The overall <strong>in</strong>come received dur<strong>in</strong>g a civil<br />
year must be declared <strong>in</strong> the follow<strong>in</strong>g year (assessment year) <strong>in</strong> a detailed tax return<br />
cover<strong>in</strong>g each type of <strong>in</strong>come. The amount of tax payable is assessed by the Tax<br />
Authorities, which issue a tax bill (avis d’imposition).<br />
4.6.1.1 Taxable persons: notion of residence for tax purposes<br />
French tax law provides that a person, regardless of nationality, will be regarded as<br />
resident <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> for the purpose of <strong>in</strong>come tax if any of the personal, professional<br />
or f<strong>in</strong>ancial criteria is met. Whenever an <strong>in</strong>dividual fulfils anyone of the three criteria,<br />
he will be deemed to be resident <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> and all his <strong>in</strong>comes, wherever they come<br />
from, will be taxed <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>. In order to avoid double taxation, a tax treaty, if it exists,<br />
may be applied.<br />
Personal criteria<br />
An <strong>in</strong>dividual with a family and/or pr<strong>in</strong>cipal place of residence <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> will be a<br />
French tax resident.<br />
Professional criteria<br />
An <strong>in</strong>dividual who carries on a trade, bus<strong>in</strong>ess or profession <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> is regarded as<br />
resident <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> for tax purposes, unless he can demonstrate that this activity is<br />
only ancillary.<br />
Economic and f<strong>in</strong>ancial criteria<br />
An <strong>in</strong>dividual hav<strong>in</strong>g the centre of his economic <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> will be deemed to<br />
be resident <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>. This will be the case if <strong>France</strong> is the place where the <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
has made major <strong>in</strong>vestments, has a ma<strong>in</strong> office or effective place of management, or<br />
derives most of his <strong>in</strong>come.<br />
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4.6.1.2 Establishment of overall <strong>in</strong>come and calculation of tax<br />
Taxable <strong>in</strong>come is the total of the net results of each of the taxpayer’s <strong>in</strong>come<br />
categories. The ma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>come categories are:<br />
• property <strong>in</strong>come (revenus fonciers)<br />
• bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong>come (bénéfices <strong>in</strong>dustriels et commerciaux)<br />
• agricultural <strong>in</strong>come (bénéfices agricoles)<br />
• employment <strong>in</strong>come (traitements et salaries)<br />
• professional <strong>in</strong>come (bénéfices non-commerciaux)<br />
• <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong>come (revenus de valeurs mobilières)<br />
• capital ga<strong>in</strong>s (plus-values)<br />
The net result of each category is the gross <strong>in</strong>come less the expenses <strong>in</strong>curred <strong>in</strong><br />
acquir<strong>in</strong>g or preserv<strong>in</strong>g the taxable <strong>in</strong>come.<br />
Once the net overall <strong>in</strong>come has been determ<strong>in</strong>ed (by addition of the net results<br />
of each category), the tax is calculated by apply<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g rates by <strong>in</strong>come<br />
<strong>in</strong>crements.<br />
The rates currently <strong>in</strong> force (year 2010) are as follows:<br />
Up to € 5875 0%<br />
From € 5,875 to € 11,720 5.5%<br />
From € 11,720 to € 26,030 14%<br />
From € 26,030 to € 69,783 30%<br />
Over € 69,783 40%<br />
4.6.1.3 Obligations<br />
Every <strong>in</strong>dividual subject to <strong>in</strong>come tax must complete under his responsibility a<br />
detailed return compris<strong>in</strong>g a general form and special forms (one for each category<br />
of <strong>in</strong>come), <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g the previous tax year’s <strong>in</strong>come.<br />
For 2009 <strong>in</strong>comes declared <strong>in</strong> 2010, the deadl<strong>in</strong>e was on 31 May 2010 for fil<strong>in</strong>g paper<br />
forms. Extended deadl<strong>in</strong>es are granted for declarations made via the Internet, or for<br />
non residents.<br />
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4.6.2 Net wealth tax<br />
4.6.2.1 Taxable persons<br />
French residents are subject to net wealth tax (impôt de solidarité sur la fortune, ISF)<br />
on their worldwide assets. However, as from 1 January 2009, taxpayers who become<br />
French tax residents, but who have been non-resident on a cont<strong>in</strong>uous basis over the<br />
preced<strong>in</strong>g 5 years, are subject to net wealth tax dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>itial 5-year period only<br />
on their assets located <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
Non-residents are taxable only on their assets located <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
4.6.2.2 Taxable base<br />
Net wealth tax applies to all assets (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g movables, securities, cash, real property)<br />
which are not specifically exempt if their overall net value (i.e. after deduction of<br />
qualify<strong>in</strong>g liabilities) exceeds a certa<strong>in</strong> threshold, which is revised annually and which<br />
is currently EUR 790,000.<br />
All items must be assessed at their market value on 1 January of the relevant year.<br />
The value of the taxpayer’s ma<strong>in</strong> residence may be discounted by 30%. The tax is<br />
assessed and paid spontaneously by the taxpayer when fil<strong>in</strong>g his wealth tax return.<br />
The follow<strong>in</strong>g assets are exempt <strong>in</strong> whole or <strong>in</strong> part from the tax:<br />
• bus<strong>in</strong>ess assets<br />
• antiques, works of art and collector’s items<br />
• literary and artistic property rights<br />
• f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>vestments by non-residents (subject to certa<strong>in</strong> limitations), other<br />
than <strong>in</strong> real property companies<br />
• woods and forests (for three quarters of their value)<br />
• agricultural properties on long-term lease (which enjoy a full or partial<br />
exemption, subject to certa<strong>in</strong> conditions) and<br />
• retirement pensions and annuities (subject to certa<strong>in</strong> conditions)<br />
Debts other than those relat<strong>in</strong>g to exempt assets may be deducted when assess<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the tax base.<br />
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4.6.2.3 Calculation<br />
Net wealth tax is assessed on the follow<strong>in</strong>g cumulative progressive scale schedule:<br />
Taxable amount (EUR) Rate (%)<br />
up to 790,000 0<br />
790,000 – 1,290,000 0.55<br />
1,290,000 – 2,530,000 0.75<br />
2,530,000 – 3,980,000 1.00<br />
3,980,000 – 7,600,000 1.30<br />
7,600,000 – 16,540,000 1.65<br />
over 16,540,000 1.80<br />
There is a maximum amount or burden for the wealth tax: it cannot exceed, comb<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
with the <strong>in</strong>come tax paid the same year, 50% of the family unit <strong>in</strong>comes. The wealth<br />
tax is reduced accord<strong>in</strong>gly if this limit is exceeded. This limitation only applies to<br />
French tax residents.<br />
4.6.3 Inheritance and gift tax<br />
4.6.3.1 Inheritance tax<br />
In case of death, the heirs and legatees must file a detailed declaration exhaustively<br />
list<strong>in</strong>g and valu<strong>in</strong>g the assets which are bequeathed to them, with<strong>in</strong> 6 months from<br />
the date of death (12 months <strong>in</strong> the event the deceased resided outside <strong>France</strong> at the<br />
time of death).<br />
Where the deceased was resident <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>, all assets, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g property, whether<br />
movable or immovable, owned by the deceased at the time of death are taxable <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>France</strong> (unless applicable tax treaties provide otherwise) and should be declared.<br />
Where the deceased was non-resident, French <strong>in</strong>heritance tax is due <strong>in</strong> respect of<br />
assets (movables and immovables) located <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>. This would <strong>in</strong>clude French-situs<br />
property and shares issued by French-registered companies.<br />
Subject to treaty provisions, the assets, wherever located, are taxable <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> from<br />
1 January 1999, where the beneficiary has been fiscally resident <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong> for at least<br />
6 years dur<strong>in</strong>g the 10-year period preced<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong> which the <strong>in</strong>heritance occurs.<br />
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Some goods are either exempt or enjoy a deduction. This is the case for life <strong>in</strong>surance<br />
proceeds (subject to certa<strong>in</strong> restrictions), and for shares <strong>in</strong> companies or assets <strong>in</strong><br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses carry<strong>in</strong>g on a commercial, <strong>in</strong>dustrial, agricultural or liberal activity, 50%<br />
of the value of which is exempt, provided the beneficiaries undertake to keep the<br />
shares for at least 8 years and at least one of the beneficiaries runs the bus<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
Inheritance tax applies only on the net assets, i.e. after deduction of the liabilities of<br />
the deceased exist<strong>in</strong>g at the time of death.<br />
Where assets are owned jo<strong>in</strong>tly between husband and wife, <strong>in</strong>heritance tax will be<br />
owed only <strong>in</strong> respect of the half share of the property which is passed on.<br />
The persons liable for the tax are the heirs and legatees.<br />
Each heir may enjoy a tax reduction which may amount to 156,974 €.<br />
4.6.3.2 Gift tax<br />
The rules for gift tax are to a large extent identical to those relat<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>heritance tax.<br />
4.7 Other taxes<br />
4.7.1 Tax on company cars<br />
A tax on company cars is due quarterly by companies own<strong>in</strong>g or rent<strong>in</strong>g cars for their<br />
employees or managers. The tax amount ranges between €750 and €4,500 per car<br />
depend<strong>in</strong>g on the size of the car.<br />
4.7.2 Payroll taxes<br />
There are four taxes due by companies which hire a m<strong>in</strong>imum number of employees.<br />
4.7.2.1 Salary tax (taxe sur les salaires)<br />
Salary tax is paid annually by companies with a VAT deduction ratio below 90% and<br />
hir<strong>in</strong>g at least one employee. The tax is not due if the annual salary does not exceed<br />
a ceil<strong>in</strong>g which is voted each year.<br />
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4.7.2.2 Apprenticeship tax (taxe d’apprentissage)<br />
Apprenticeship tax is paid annually by companies hir<strong>in</strong>g at least one employee.<br />
The tax rate is 0.5% assessed on annual salaries paid. S<strong>in</strong>ce 1 January 2006, an<br />
additional contribution of 0.18% is due on the same basis.<br />
4.7.2.3 Contribution to employees tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g (participation formation)<br />
The contribution to employees tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g tax is paid annually by companies hir<strong>in</strong>g at<br />
least one employee. The tax is assessed on the annual salaries, and the rate depends<br />
on the number of employees as follows:<br />
• less than 10 employees: 0.55%,<br />
• between 10 and 19 employees: 1.05%,<br />
• 20 or more employees: 1.60%.<br />
4.7.2.4 Contribution to hous<strong>in</strong>g construction (participation construction)<br />
The contribution to hous<strong>in</strong>g tax is paid annually by companies hir<strong>in</strong>g at least 20<br />
employees which do not <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> residential hous<strong>in</strong>g construction <strong>in</strong> an amount<br />
correspond<strong>in</strong>g at least to 0.45% of the salaries paid to their employees. If employers<br />
did not <strong>in</strong>vest enough dur<strong>in</strong>g a fiscal year, the tax rate is 2% on annual salaries.<br />
4.7.3 Tax based on environmental issues<br />
There is an energy tax (taxe sur l’électricité), beer and soft dr<strong>in</strong>ks tax (taxe sur les<br />
bières et boissons non alcoolisées), a tax on pollut<strong>in</strong>g activities (taxe sur les activités<br />
pollutantes) and a mud tax (taxe sur les boues d’épuration urba<strong>in</strong>es ou <strong>in</strong>dustrielles).<br />
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4.7.4 Tax on <strong>in</strong>surance premiums<br />
There is an <strong>in</strong>surance tax (taxe sur les conventions d’assurances) imposed on French<br />
or foreign <strong>in</strong>surance companies that conclude <strong>in</strong>surance contracts that cover risk<br />
that may occur <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>. The base for this tax is all the sums paid to the <strong>in</strong>surance<br />
companies (premiums, <strong>in</strong>demnifications, etc). The rate varies accord<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />
category of <strong>in</strong>surance and the risk covered, for example:<br />
• illness: 7%<br />
• transports: 18%<br />
• fire on assets used for the bus<strong>in</strong>ess: 7%<br />
• others: 9%.<br />
4.7.5 Tax on gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
There are two taxes on gambl<strong>in</strong>g, a tax on gambl<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs (droits sur les jeux de<br />
hasard) and a tax on cas<strong>in</strong>os (taxe sur les cercles et maisons de jeux). The rate varies<br />
from 8% to 70%.<br />
4.7.6 Excise tax on consumer goods<br />
There is an excise tax (droit d’accise) on consumer goods such as alcohol, tobacco<br />
and m<strong>in</strong>eral oils.<br />
4.7.7 Workers Council tax<br />
There is a contribution paid to the Workers’ Council (subvention de fonctionnement<br />
du comité d’entreprise). The amount of the contribution is 0.2% of wages.<br />
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5 Account<strong>in</strong>g regulations & standards<br />
5.1 Reference texts<br />
French account<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples are set up <strong>in</strong> the Law of April 30th, 1983 (<strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
companies’ f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements). This text was revised <strong>in</strong> 1999 with the Rule 99-<br />
03, which conta<strong>in</strong>s the General Chart of Accounts (“Plan Comptable Général”). The<br />
account<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples for consolidated f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements are set up <strong>in</strong> the Law<br />
of January 3rd, 1985. This text was revised <strong>in</strong> 1999 with the Rule 99-02. Moreover,<br />
account<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples are based on the op<strong>in</strong>ions and <strong>in</strong>terpretations of <strong>France</strong>’s<br />
account<strong>in</strong>g standards authority (“ANC”) and on recommendations made by various<br />
professional organizations. Fundamental account<strong>in</strong>g concepts, such as prudence,<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g concern, accruals and consistency, have a legal basis <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
5.2 Account<strong>in</strong>g obligations for companies<br />
Commercial companies must keep qualitative accounts and notably:<br />
• Chronologically record the entries affect<strong>in</strong>g the f<strong>in</strong>ancial hold<strong>in</strong>gs of the company;<br />
• Control, at least once a year, with an <strong>in</strong>ventory, the existence and valuation of the<br />
assets and liabilities of the company;<br />
• Prepare yearly f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements at clos<strong>in</strong>g date based on the account<strong>in</strong>g<br />
entries and on the <strong>in</strong>ventory.<br />
In order to abide by these 3 fundamental account<strong>in</strong>g obligations commercial companies<br />
must follow a few rules:<br />
• Regard<strong>in</strong>g the shape of the balance sheet, of the <strong>in</strong>come statement and of the<br />
liabilities to be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the notes to the f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements;<br />
• The annual accounts shall be honest and truthful and shall ensure a fair<br />
representation of the assets, f<strong>in</strong>ancial situation and results of the undertak<strong>in</strong>g;<br />
• Need to establish a document that shall describe the policies and the account<strong>in</strong>g<br />
organization if necessary for the understand<strong>in</strong>g of the treatment system;<br />
• Respect the chart of accounts def<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> the general chart of accounts established<br />
by the account<strong>in</strong>g rules authority.<br />
The companies whose head office is located on the French territory must express their<br />
documents <strong>in</strong> Euros and draft them <strong>in</strong> the French language. The account<strong>in</strong>g documents<br />
and support<strong>in</strong>g documentation must be kept for ten years.<br />
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5.3 Mandatory account<strong>in</strong>g documents<br />
Commercial companies must keep:<br />
• A ledger,<br />
• A general ledger,<br />
• An <strong>in</strong>ventory ledger.<br />
The general ledger is not a mandatory document accord<strong>in</strong>g to the account<strong>in</strong>g rules<br />
but, for companies for which a statutory auditor is mandatory (cf. § audit<strong>in</strong>g), it is a<br />
mean of control that they should have at their disposal.<br />
All commercial companies must abide by their rules, whatever their tax status and<br />
whatever their account<strong>in</strong>g system. From a tax standpo<strong>in</strong>t, the French Tax Code states<br />
that the tax agents are allowed to request these documents.<br />
5.4 Form and content of f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements<br />
The form and content of f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements are def<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> the General Chart of<br />
Accounts (“Plan Comptable Général 2005”). The basic f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong><br />
the annual reports to shareholders are:<br />
• A balance sheet, where head<strong>in</strong>gs are classified by function (e.g. f<strong>in</strong>ance and<br />
customers etc. rather than by liquidity)<br />
• An <strong>in</strong>come statement, where revenues and expenses are classified by orig<strong>in</strong>, and<br />
are systematically presented under three overall categories:<br />
• Operat<strong>in</strong>g revenues and expenses<br />
• F<strong>in</strong>ancial revenues and expenses<br />
• Exceptional revenues and expenses<br />
• Explanatory notes.<br />
Consolidated statements are required for Group of companies, who have met, dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
two consecutive years, two of the three follow<strong>in</strong>g criteria:<br />
• Over 250 employees,<br />
• 30 million Euros turnover and,<br />
• 15 million Euros total balance sheet value.<br />
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St. Stephen’s Cathedral,<br />
Vienna<br />
Subsidiaries under the control of the hold<strong>in</strong>g company or corporate structures <strong>in</strong> which<br />
the hold<strong>in</strong>g company has a significant <strong>in</strong>fluence (at least 20 per cent of the shares)<br />
must be consolidated.<br />
Consolidated statements are not required if the Group is also held by a French or<br />
foreign company and is already <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> its own consolidated statements.<br />
The consolidated statements <strong>in</strong>clude:<br />
• The consolidated balance sheet<br />
• The consolidated <strong>in</strong>come statements<br />
• The cash flow statement<br />
• The statement of changes <strong>in</strong> owners’ equity<br />
• The notes to the consolidated statements<br />
5.5 Audit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
French corporations are required to submit their f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements for audit<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
However, other companies (such as SNC, SARL) are only subject to this requirement if<br />
they exceed certa<strong>in</strong> thresholds (<strong>in</strong> terms of total of assets, number of employees, level<br />
of sales, etc.).<br />
Audits are conducted by professionals (legal auditors – “commissaires aux comptes”)<br />
duly registered. Legal auditors are appo<strong>in</strong>ted by the shareholders for a period of six<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial years. The legal auditor issues two formal annual reports to shareholders: the<br />
audit report and the special report.<br />
5.5.1 The audit report<br />
The audit report must <strong>in</strong>clude a justified op<strong>in</strong>ion on the f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements and on the<br />
legal compliance with account<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples.<br />
5.5.2 The special report<br />
The special report conta<strong>in</strong>s disclosures of those transactions between a company and<br />
its directors that either lie outside the normal course of bus<strong>in</strong>ess of the company or<br />
are not at arm’s-length.<br />
If consolidated statements are required, the legal auditors must issue a report on the<br />
consolidated f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements. This report must be signed by two legal auditors.<br />
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5.6 Focus on listed companies<br />
5.6.1 Consolidated f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce January 1st, 2005, the listed companies have had the obligation to present<br />
their consolidated f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements accord<strong>in</strong>g to the IFRS. The legal auditor’s<br />
op<strong>in</strong>ion and the directors’ report must also be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the annual report. The<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements and the legal auditor’s and directors’ reports must be filed with<br />
the Commercial Register and are available for <strong>in</strong>spection by the public.<br />
5.6.2 Report on Internal Control (only for companies quoted on the Stock Exchange)<br />
This report presents the observations of the legal auditors on the report of the<br />
director concern<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>ternal control procedures regard<strong>in</strong>g the development<br />
and the treatment of the account<strong>in</strong>g and f<strong>in</strong>ancial data process<strong>in</strong>g. The purpose<br />
of the legal auditors is to secure that this <strong>in</strong>formation conta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> the report of<br />
the director must be presented <strong>in</strong> a s<strong>in</strong>cere way, be relevant and not likely to be<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpreted wrongly.<br />
5.7 Account<strong>in</strong>g and tax audit<br />
The quality of the account<strong>in</strong>g system of the company has direct consequences on the<br />
level of the risk borne by the company with<strong>in</strong> a tax audit. The strict respect of the<br />
rules of the PCG regard<strong>in</strong>g the treatment and the keep<strong>in</strong>g of the account<strong>in</strong>g data is<br />
therefore very important for every company established <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong>.<br />
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5.8 Adoption of IFRS <strong>in</strong> <strong>France</strong><br />
The application of the IFRS is mandatory for the consolidated accounts of NYSE<br />
Euronext Eurolist listed companies. For all other companies the application of the<br />
IFRS is optional but the presentation of f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements under the IFRS cannot<br />
replace the f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements presented under the French rules.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce January 1, 2005, new rules have applied to the account<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples.<br />
Convergence of the French account<strong>in</strong>g rules towards the IFRS has been made <strong>in</strong><br />
different areas, such as assets or mergers and acquisitions.<br />
Even if the convergence process of the French rules towards the IFRS has started for<br />
a number of years there are still a lot of differences between the French rules and<br />
the IFRS. This is ma<strong>in</strong>ly due to a different approach <strong>in</strong> the two referentials and of the<br />
objective and the vision that the f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements of a company must give.<br />
In the French rules the economic events are seen through the law sight and are<br />
valued accord<strong>in</strong>g to the historic cost with the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal objective be<strong>in</strong>g the calculation<br />
of the taxable <strong>in</strong>comes.<br />
The IFRS support the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple of the predom<strong>in</strong>ance of the substance (the existence<br />
of the economic event) over the form (the legal existence) with an evaluation<br />
frequently made on the basis of the fair value.<br />
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6 Contacts<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>France</strong> (Head Office)<br />
40 Avenue Hoche – 75008 Paris T +33 1 56 88 31 20<br />
F +33 1 56 88 31 29<br />
Chairman<br />
<strong>International</strong> Contact Manager<br />
Jean-Michel Picaud<br />
jm.picaud@rsm-france.com<br />
Valérie Guillard<br />
v.guillard@rsm-france.com<br />
Paris Region<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> Dba<br />
36 rue du Louvre – 75001 Paris T +33 1 42 44 17 50<br />
F +33 1 42 97 46 86<br />
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Partner<br />
Arnaud Laplanche<br />
arnaud.laplanche@rsm-dba.com<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> Rsa<br />
40 Avenue Hoche – 75008 Paris T +33 1 53 83 90 00<br />
F +33 1 42 89 22 27<br />
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Partner<br />
Arnaud Devoucoux<br />
a.devoucoux@rsm-rsa.com<br />
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Lyon/South East <strong>France</strong><br />
<strong>RSM</strong> CCI Conseils<br />
2 bis, rue Tête d’Or – 69006 Lyon T +33 4 72 69 19 19<br />
F +33 4 72 69 19 10<br />
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Partner<br />
Pierre-Michel Monneret<br />
pm.monneret@rsm-cciconseils.fr<br />
Nantes/Western <strong>France</strong><br />
<strong>RSM</strong> Secovec<br />
L’Arpège T +33 2 51 83 30 30<br />
213 route de Rennes F +33 2 51 83 30 39<br />
BP 60277 – 44702 Orvault Cedex<br />
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Partner<br />
Gilles Leclair<br />
gleclair@rsm-secovec.com<br />
Normandy region<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> Secno<br />
28 rue Alfred Kastler T +33 2 35 59 76 76<br />
BP 278 F +33 2 35 59 11 55<br />
76137 Mont-Sa<strong>in</strong>t-Aignan Cedex<br />
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Partner<br />
Eric Masurel<br />
eric.masurel@rsm-secno.fr<br />
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Notes
Notes
Notes
Palais de la Bourse,<br />
Bordeaux<br />
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<strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> Executive Office<br />
11 Old Jewry<br />
London<br />
EC2R 8DU<br />
United K<strong>in</strong>gdom<br />
T: +44 (0)20 7601 1080<br />
F: +44 (0)20 7601 1090<br />
E: rsmcommunications@rsmi.com<br />
www.rsmi.com<br />
<strong>RSM</strong> is the brand used by a network of <strong>in</strong>dependent account<strong>in</strong>g and advisory firms each of which practices <strong>in</strong> its own right. The<br />
network is not itself a separate legal entity of any description <strong>in</strong> any jurisdiction.<br />
The network is adm<strong>in</strong>istered by <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> Limited, a company registered <strong>in</strong> England and Wales (company number 4040598)<br />
whose registered office is at 11 Old Jewry, London EC2R 8DU.<br />
The brand and trademark <strong>RSM</strong> and other <strong>in</strong>tellectual property rights used by members of the network are owned by <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong><br />
Association, an association governed by article 60 et seq of the Civil Code of Switzerland whose seat is <strong>in</strong> Zug.<br />
© <strong>RSM</strong> <strong>International</strong> Association, 2012<br />
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