Full summer in the Tarn et Garonne. Temperature: 37 degrees and rising. Pool: like chicken soup. Tourists everywhere: mainly Brits and Dutch. You can tell the Dutch: taller, thinner versions of the Brits, but they don't spend any money, they arrive in caravans, and even though they're entering the land of le bien manger, they bring their drink and sandwiches with them.
For those who are gite owners, there's the usual confusion over taxes. French bureaucracy rules O.K. 2 main types of tax: auto-entrepreneur and the micro system. Difference? Under the former, you have to pay mandatory 'social charges' (as do all French employees; it's like English N.I.) based on turnover, while for the latter tax is paid on profit after expenses. Apparently the crucial difference is if you are providing extra services (!), then it's deemed a business and you pay 21.3% social charges rate.
As someone who never understood tax laws even in the UK, don't ask me. Why do the authorities have to make things so difficult? Well, I'll tell you. It's the same on the roads. They love to instal as few kph road signs as possible, for long, long stretches of road, so that strangers never know the max speed limit. Then, as with the 'deliberate' tax obfuscation - someone in authority can enjoy schadenfreude and bonus points at catching as many 'criminals' as possible.Oh no, I fear the job's worth song 's here yet again:
Job's worth, job's worth
It's more than my job's worth
I don't care, rain or snow,
whatever you want, the answer's no
I can keep you waiting for ever in the queue
And if you don't like it, you know what you can do....
Showing posts with label French gites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French gites. Show all posts
13th December 2008
As we wave goodbye to our new friends from Cap Breton in Nova Scotia, it was interesting to hear how much they loved the gite they stayed in during their visit. But, at a time when many people look to buy a French gite to boost their incomes, there still seems to be some confusion over holiday letting arrangements in France.
Many gite owners, like Geoff Botley of nearby historic Carcassone, become exasperated over messy guests. He says that many families when on holiday go completely wild, wrecking his property and smiling indulgently while their children run amok. Another owner, David Middleton, agreed when one family staying at his villa in the Var, on the Mediterranean coast, smashed up the place and then denied all knowledge. He said it took 11 hours to restore the villa completely after they had left. However, another owner, Rosa de Javel, has a different view. After renting holiday gites for over 30 years, she knows a thing or two about the subject. She says that if you're not prepared to do some cleaning then the simple answer is not to let out your property at all. She added: 'People don't go on holiday to do housework. That's why security deposits were invented. After they leave and you open the door, always expect the worst.'
So, for all new gite owners looking forward to letting out your property: beware. If a family's first comment after arrival is 'oh, it looks so clean', it could mean that their own home back home isn't as clean as this, and they're likely to leave it in a state they're used to, i.e. a mess!
Ah well - nothing comes easy in life. I think I'll stick to chez-nous with Him indoors. At least, after 41 years together, I know what to expect!
......................P.S. Don't miss tomorrow's episode of 'I'm NOT a celebrity - get me published'
Many gite owners, like Geoff Botley of nearby historic Carcassone, become exasperated over messy guests. He says that many families when on holiday go completely wild, wrecking his property and smiling indulgently while their children run amok. Another owner, David Middleton, agreed when one family staying at his villa in the Var, on the Mediterranean coast, smashed up the place and then denied all knowledge. He said it took 11 hours to restore the villa completely after they had left. However, another owner, Rosa de Javel, has a different view. After renting holiday gites for over 30 years, she knows a thing or two about the subject. She says that if you're not prepared to do some cleaning then the simple answer is not to let out your property at all. She added: 'People don't go on holiday to do housework. That's why security deposits were invented. After they leave and you open the door, always expect the worst.'
So, for all new gite owners looking forward to letting out your property: beware. If a family's first comment after arrival is 'oh, it looks so clean', it could mean that their own home back home isn't as clean as this, and they're likely to leave it in a state they're used to, i.e. a mess!
Ah well - nothing comes easy in life. I think I'll stick to chez-nous with Him indoors. At least, after 41 years together, I know what to expect!
......................P.S. Don't miss tomorrow's episode of 'I'm NOT a celebrity - get me published'
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