If you have moved from the UK to France, and now reside in the latter country, you will need to be aware of matters concerning taxation – including whether your circumstances necessitate you completing a French tax return, and whether you may also still be liable for...
Articles by: Robert Kent
Robert Kent
Director
Robert was an original founder of Kentingtons and has been working in tax and wealth management for over 30 years.
Robert was as a senior adviser for HSBC, in London, and ended up specialising solely on giving international advice to people from all over the world.
He then went on to work for Towry Law’s international division managing Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, working out of both the Windsor office and Brussels. Robert always wanted to expand into France, however, this was resisted by management who felt France was too complex.
Robert was then headhunted by a firm with an office in Brussels and was delighted to leave the UK to have his first experience living life as an expat. This is where he met his wife, Christine, who is a also a director of Kentingtons. It was whilst in Brussels, that Robert’s interest in France developed further, as many people who worked in Brussels chose to retire there and became the specialist in all matters French.
Christine being half French and half Belgian, was only too happy when Robert took up a new position on the French Riviera as south east regional manager for Siddalls, so finally achieving the dream of moving to France. Christine became pregnant with their first child and this coincided with a colleague leaving and Robert having to cover two regions. Unable to cope with the extra travel and workload, he parted ways with them and set up Kentingtons.
Kentingtons is a French based company, set up as Conseil en gestion de Patrimoine and Robert was one of the first advisers in France become certifié (certified but akin to chartered in the UK) and as such is able to offer advice on both fiscal and civil law, where related to financial planning, as well as offering wealth management counsel and management as Conseil en Investissement Financier.
Robert, lives with his wife Christine and their son Alex in sunny Provence. When not working Robert enjoys hiking, swimming and joys French fine wine and cuisine.
Articles by Kentingtons
Understanding your French property tax obligations when moving to France
France can be a wonderfully rewarding part of the world in which to own a property; however, whether you have already purchased a property here or are contemplating doing so, you will need to be well-informed on your tax obligations. Here, then, are the essentials of...
Buying Your Dream Home in France – Free Webinar 31st March 2022
If 2022 is the year that you are looking at making the move to France, please join us for this free webinar to ask questions to Kentingtons and other panelists. The other panelists are Joanna Leggett from Leggett Immobilier, Paulette Booth from Agence Axa...
How Does Brexit Tax Changes Affect Expat Britons in France?
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by UK nationals this year is “What did Brexit change for us regarding our move to France?” This is not an unreasonable question, since it has undoubtedly changed many things, such as health and residency rights, so...
UK Pensions in France: 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Moving Your Pension Cash
It seems that more and more people have become aware of the ability to take a UK pension, as a French resident, and pay just 7.5% tax, after an unlimited 10% allowance, thus a very reasonable 6.75%. Indeed, we have written about it, in this very space, however, we...
Living in France After Brexit: Two Myths De-Bunked
Last month we talked about residency, Brexit and Freedom of movement, which triggered a flurry of calls and emails from people of a particular situation. I say that it is particular, however, the high volume tells me that that there are enough concerned people to...
French Residency After Brexit and Freedom of Movement
French residency has always been an area of confusion, however, with Brexit, this has become more convoluted, due to EU rules, local laws of each country and Schengen rules. Of course, UK nationals, as EU citizens, never had to worry about the right to stay more than...
Inheritance Planning in France: The Best Ways to Protect What You Hold Dear
At this time of year we might be reflective on what we hold most dear, our family and loved ones and, especially, our spouses; their significance to you made all the more potent by the current pandemic and the narrower circle of people with whom we can get physically...
Should Brexit force a UK Pension Exit?
There has always been a great deal of uncertainty surrounding what happens after Brexit, for many things. One of those anxieties has been the likely loss of EU passporting rights for UK financial services. Until recently, most people have considered that it is...
Assurance Vie, C’est la Vie! Should You Be Worried?
This month the editor of Connexion sent me an article they had come across, in the mainstream French press, about assurance vie and asked me what I thought. Given that many people living in France have an assurance vie, including expatriates, we agreed it as an...
It Is Hard to be an Investor
When it comes to your money these days, it is hard to know what to do. Interest rates are 0.10% in the UK and 0.0% in the rest of Europe. This has led many people to add more of their money to the stock market, or even invest this way where previously not considered....
4 French Tax Myths and Misconceptions Explained
Being the month of April (poisson d’avril / April fool) the Connexion have asked me if I could write about french tax myths and misconceptions. Mmm… I might need a bit more than half a page for that, so failing the Connexion granting me 50 pages to write about this, I...