More French taxpayers retire to PortugalThe French are overtaking the British as the leading purchasers of retirement real estate in Portugal, attracted by its more lenient tax regime – and they are buying at the high end of the market. Financial affairs continue to drive many elements of the residential sales market internationally and the latest trend to be noticed is the French buying in Portugal, apparently driven out of France by President Hollande’s increased taxes on the rich. The French have endured €70billion (£55billion) of tax increases in the last three years. After Nicolas Sarkozy had already increased taxes during his executive period, Francois Hollande has taken it further. Among the high profile tax exiles are film stars Gérard Dépardieu and Salma Hayek, who left for London with her French husband following President Hollande’s planned introduced of a 75% tax rate for citizens with a yearly income over €1million (£790,000). Parisian property consultant Adrian Leeds told OPP Connect, “The tax situation is a train wreck. It made a very big stink to try to pass 75% tax on earners of over a million euros… my lawyers tell me that 70% of everything they do is to try and get clients offshore.” But while the youngsters are coming to London, for French senior citizens, Portugal has proved a popular choice. The Mediterranean country is not only a warm and friendly place to spend a retirement, it offers the crucial advantage of the non-habitual-resident-program. This leaves the pensions of foreigners who come to Portugal free of tax, if the money is paid from a source outside Portugal. Along with the French tax law, this can even mean French retirees pay no tax at all, as France only charges tax on pensions for French citizens who actually live in France. Luis Filipe Sousa, a tax manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Lisbon confirmed when talking tothe Businessweek website, “This means that the pension income may end up not being taxed at all.” As a consequence of the tax incentives, French expats have now overtaken Britons as the leading foreign property buyers in Portugal. In the first quarter of 2014, 3,500 Portuguese properties have been acquired by foreigners. The three strongest nationals, French, Britons and Chinese, accounted for more than half of the purchases, says the Portuguese Real Estate Professionals and Brokers Association (APEMIP). Even better news is that the French appear to be buying at the upper end of the market. Agent Fine and Country told Business Week that after not seeing a Frenchman for 10 years, they have sold five properties so far this year at prices of up to €1million. By Larissa Rhyn, OPP editorial intern
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 20:00:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015