Tim gained a Masters Degree in History from Glasgow University in 1980. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984 with Arthur Young in Glasgow. From 1986 to 1987 he worked with KPMG Peat Marwick in their Guernsey Office. Between 1987 and 1989 he was a manager with Morgan Guaranty at Euroclear in Brussels and joined the partnership which was subsequently incorporated into PKF (Guernsey) Limited as an audit manager in 1989. Tim was appointed Audit Partner in 1992, and is now the Managing Director.
After completing his PhD in retailing at Nottingham University, Simon joined PKF in 1992. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the firm in 1994, winning the prize for the highest scoring Channel Islands student in his final exams. Until recently Simon was the offshore representative to the Board of PKF (UK) LLP and a member of the Technical Sub-Committee of the Guernsey Society of Chartered and Certified Accountants.
Since joining the firm he has been involved in many aspects of the offshore financial services sector, including trusts, open and closed-ended funds and regulated financial services businesses.
Simon has served as a director of companies quoted on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange, Euronext and on AIM in London. He is also a director of several Guernsey companies, including a large private property company and the Guernsey Housing Association LBG. In this capacity, he has been responsible for managing many corporate and property transactions. He is also a non-executive director of Sandpiper CI.
Stuart joined PKF (Guernsey) Limited as Audit Director at the beginning of 2010 bringing a wealth of diverse international experience.
He studied Finance at the University of Birmingham and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand in Liverpool in 1995. Subsequently he spent four years working in Kazakhstan, followed by a further two in Seattle, with PwC. Whilst in the USA, Stuart also gained the CPA qualification. Stuart then joined Deloitte in Moscow where he became a Partner in 2005. At the end of 2007 he moved to Guernsey as a Partner with Ernst &Young, focusing primarily on the asset management, real estate and emerging market sectors.
Stuart recently completed the Islamic Finance Qualification and STEP Foundation course and is also a MCSI.
John joined Pannell Kerr Forster, as it then was, in 1996 bringing with him considerable experience in personal and offshore taxation gained during his time as a Tax Manager in Jersey. He was appointed a Director of PKF (Guernsey) Limited in 1997 and is responsible for the taxation services of the company.
John graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics and Accounting from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1985 and went on to work as a senior accountant in Grand Cayman. John is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
André joined the Guernsey Income Tax Office in 1981 where he attained the rank of Inspector and qualified as a Certified Accountant. In 1993 he joined the Tax Department of Coopers & Lybrand before moving to Pannell Kerr Forster, as it then was, in 1995. Andre is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Associate Director responsible for Guernsey Tax affairs and has been appointed as Chairman of the GSCCA Tax Sub Committee.
Virginie obtained a degree in Business Studies from IPAG, a French business school, in 1993. During the four-year course she gained experience with companies in the USA, France and Channel Islands. Virginie also holds a Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English. After leaving France, Virginie moved to Guernsey where she joined the French Tax Department of Pannell Kerr Forster, as it was then, in 1993.
Catherine joined PKF Guernsey in 2006. A French National, she studied English at Rouen university in Normandy before moving to Guernsey over twenty years ago to improve her language skills. Initially Catherine worked as a French Assistant in local secondary schools and then in 1993 joined a local accountancy firm where she dealt with Guernsey tax compliance and specialised in personal tax and social security issues. Catherine has also been involved in teaching French to young children in association with several pre-schools and infant schools and organised French courses for the island’s Tourist Board.
John is a graduate of Edinburgh University with a degree in physics and holds a postgraduate diploma in Professional Accounting from the University of Stirling. He became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 1994 after training with a small firm of accountants in Dumfries. John gained further experience working for several other small firms in Scotland before joining PKF audit department in February 2000. He was promoted to Audit Manager in November 2004.
Originally from Glasgow, Tommy worked within the accountancy profession in both the UK and Ireland before joining PKF (Guernsey) in 2003. He is now Audit Manager in the Audit Department. Tommy has a Batchelor of Accountancy (Honours) Degree from the University of Stirling, is a member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and holds a Diploma in International Financial Reporting.
Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG), Contribution au Remboursement de la Dette Sociale (CRDS) and Prélèvement Social (PS) Rates
Notes
Foreign earnings received by individuals resident in France and covered under a French health scheme. This cotisation is treated as part of mainstream French social security charges, and thus excluded from any double tax treaty exemption.
Part of the CSG (currently 4.2% on pensions, 5.1% on salaries and 5.8% for other income) is deductible from the following year’s taxable income.
Foreign pensions and salaries are not normally liable to the CSG and CRDS if the pensioner is eligible to continued health cover under one of the DSS forms (E121, E106). Nevertheless it is important to note that foreign investment income (interest, dividends) and gains are never exempt from these “social” surcharges. If foreign pensions have been declared as annuities for French income tax purposes the CSG, CRDS and PS apply..
The 2010 tax free investment disposal limit for Capital Gains Tax is €25,830. From 1 January 2010, the CSG, CRDS and PS apply from the first Euro of gain, that is to say regardless of the level of disposals.
Couverture Maladie Universelle (CMU)
The income limit (2008 revenu fiscal de référence) to benefit from the Couverture Maladie Universelle (basic cover) without paying any contributions is set at €9,020 for the period from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010.
Gifts Tax and Estate Duties
1. Transfers between spouses or members of a PACS agreement (or foreign equivalent, civil partnerships etc.) are exempt from French inheritance tax. The following rates apply however to lifetime gifts, after a tax-free allowance of €79,533
2. Transfers (through lifetime gifts or succession) between parents and children are taxed on the following sliding scale after a tax-free allowance of €156,974
3. Transfers between siblings benefit from a €15,697 tax free abatement and the excess gives rise to a charge calculated as follows:
4. The rate of inheritance tax for transfers of assets to nephews and nieces is 55% after a tax-free allowance of €7,849 each. Where nephews and nieces inherit in lieu of their mother or father the rate applicable may be that used for transfers between siblings but the €15,697 is shared.
5. Transfers of assets to other relations up to the fourth degree are taxed at 55% and all other transfers ( to remote relatives or unrelated individuals) are taxed at 60% after a small tax-free allowance of €1,570.
6. The gift tax allowance for a lifetime gifts from a grandparent to a grandchild is currently €31,395. It is fixed at €5,232 for lifetime gifts made by a great-grandparent.
For French tax advice or assistance with the preparation of your French tax returns (for non-residents or residents of France) Contact us or call Virginie Deflassieux or Catherine Le Pelley on +44 1481 727927.
