Expats In France May Be Eligible For Social Security Refunds
The French Ministry of Finance has issued guidance on the procedure for taxpayers to follow to reclaim wrongly charged social security contributions.
The guidance has been issued following a European Court of Justice ruling in February in Ministre de l’Économie et des Finances v. Gérard de Ruyter. The case concerned a Dutch national who worked for several years in France. During this time, he was subject to French social security contributions on income from real estate despite being a party to the Dutch social security regime.
In previous cases, dating back as far as the year 2000, it was held that taxpayers subject to social security tax regimes in their country of origin should not also face double taxation in another member state through their equivalent regimes. The ruling in the de Ruyter case took this understanding a step further in extending this principle to income from real estate assets.
The guidance notes, released in French on the Finance Ministry’s website, will aid those seeking to bring claims against the French Government in cases where they have been subject to French social security charges but are party to another member state’s social security regime.
Claims may be made in respect of charges paid from January 1, 2013.
