The OECD – does it know what it is doing?

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On the subject of the Unfair Treatment of Public Service Pensioners in France.

My correspondence on this with the Tax Treaty Team in Whitehall is one sided. Generally I write: they do not reply. To my first letter they replied after some months and informed me that they ‘were following the rules”. Fairness and morality played no part. They and some others refer to the Rules as laid down by the OECD. So this is an area to explore.
OECD --The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As it itself proclaims, "it is an international organisation helping governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalised economy". This body was founded in 1961 with its headquarters in Paris. Thirty countries have signed up to its deliberations. It has a budget of 303 million Euros a year.
You can read more by going to http://www.oecd.org/
Amongst its other activities it advises on Double Taxation Conventions. To achieve this it produces a Model Construction for such Conventions which the thirty countries follow. To explain how the Model should operate there is a commentary on it. This extends to about 400 pages and is viewable via this following link.
http://www.oecd.org/berlin/publikationen/43324465.pdf

It is apparent that the intentions of the OECD are admirable. It is to prevent tax payers being overtaxed whether they be individuals or organisations. Unfortunately the end result is, for this particular individual and those like me, quite the contrary. The OECD has made the whole rigmarole extremely complicated and yet it misses out on important details.
Inherent in the Conventions is the idea that monies paid out by Governments to people for their pensions should be taxed by those Governments.
As far as the British citizen in concerned, the notion fails, and fails miserably and ludicrously. It fails because the ruling states that pensions ‘paid for services to the Government’ are those so affected. By some ludicrous quirk, it seems that NHS workers are not considered as working for the Government. So it is that such pensions do not have to be taxed by the British Government if they live abroad.
Another anomaly arises with pensions paid via the Teachers Superannuation Scheme. This is a Government sponsored body and works smoothly. But there are many teachers working in the private sector who pay into this scheme, and the pensions of those persons who live abroad are also not taxable by the British Government.
So what about those, like me, who have worked in both sectors. Oh well, the British Government want to tax me on the lot! And I fear the OECD seem to think in their 417 page commentary that such a situation is acceptable. Not to me!
So the British Government want to rake in the tax on my income.
And the French Government go along with this. But I desire to live in France as the French do. For instance, a Frenchman on a modest income, as mine is, would be able to obtain reductions on his tax payments.
Here we touch on the ignorance of the taxation systems amongst the British expatriates who have such British Government pensions. The vast majority are probably quite unaware that they are potentially losing out because of these stupid rules laid down by the OECD in collusion with the thirty Governments who have signed up to the OECD.
How many are aware that reductions of tax are available for employment of
1. A home help. and 2. A gardener. ?
These reductions are CONSIDERABLE, They amount to 50% of the outlay. The reduction can reach thousands of euros a year, and could eliminate all income tax anywhere!
Reductions are also available for funds paid to charities (75% no less, of the outlay).
These reductions are denied to those who pay tax to Britain (unless they enjoy a considerable income taxable in France as well.)
The loss to me last year approached 1,000 euros. And now I cannot afford to employ a home help, which I could if this ruling did not apply! I still support a charity to help the education of a boy in Cambodia, since such a promise is a long term commitment, a commitment made before the collapse of the pound.
As we get older, and I am close to my 77th birthday, one needs home-helps and gardeners. Why should these confounded Governments, aided blindly by the OECD deny me the advantages available to the ordinary Frenchman? And more! This situation is contrary to Article 25 of the said Double Taxation Convention and YET the bureaucrats do not answer my letters!
This is a matter which should raise the hackles of every teacher, military personnel, local Government pensioner, fireman and more who have retired to France. Yet I fear few seem to realise the situation.
I suspect that the French Government doesn’t realise the situation either. But I have informed them. And they do not reply either. I have written three times!

What does one do now?
I wait a while and then I write to the European Union Parliament who operate a petition service open to all European Citizens.

To those who read this – please can you draw the attention of any affected by this circumstance to read this article and ask them to get in touch with me, to join with me in raising it with the French and British Governments, and if it should be necessary, the EU parliament.
Brian Cave

The Appalling Government!

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Below is the ABSOLUTELY appalling Government response to a fairly put petition by the originator, Norman Walker. His request was JUST. I myself know of an elderly lady who is in hardship. The WFP did not exist when she emigrated to France to live with her daughter. The Government’s response is mean and penny pinching; it displays a shallowness of intellect; a disregard for the poor and needy; a lack of concern for the British citizen; it displays a lack of understanding about the concept of Europe; it displays a lack of statesmanship ; it is disgraceful.
The number of people affected is small, none can be younger than 75, and the number will not increase. And note, few of the disaffected will have the vote! [The blog site expands on the issue at length.]
What also, I ask, is the attitude of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to this response?

Thursday 4 June 2009
Fairfuelhelp - epetition response
We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to pay the Winter Fuel Allowance to UK pensioners in EU countries who left UK before 1998.”
Details of Petition:
“Those of us who left UK before the allowance started are currently excluded. This is arbitrary and unfair. Why does a pensioner who left in 1998 (or since) get it but one who left in 1997 (or before) not get it? To favour more recent expatriates in this way is illogical and discriminatory. Please correct this and help us in our present difficulties as you are endeavouring so hard to do for many other Britich citizens affected by the economic recession. And PLEASE HELP US NOW our need is URGENT. (See my letter to you of 26 December 2008 - as yet unacknowledged and unanswered).”
• Read the petition
• Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
Winter Fuel Payments were introduced in the winter of 1997/98 to give older people in Great Britain reassurance that they can afford to turn up their heating in the winter months without worrying about the cost. Older people are targeted because they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold weather in the winter months. The Winter Fuel Payment was introduced as a measure, amongst others, that would help deliver the Government’s target of eradicating fuel poverty, as far as reasonably practicable, in vulnerable households by 2010 in England. Similar targets exist in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
To qualify for a payment a person has to be aged 60 or over and ordinarily resident in Great Britain or Northern Ireland during the qualifying week. The qualifying week for Winter Fuel Payments is set in legislation as the week commencing from the third Monday in September. For winter 2008/09 the qualifying week was 15th-21st September 2008.
In July 2002 the Winter Fuel Payment Scheme was extended to people residing outside the UK but within the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland who had previously qualified for a payment in the UK. This followed discussions with the European Commission when the Government agreed that the payments were covered by the Regulation (EEC) 1408/71, which provides for some social security benefits to continue to be paid in another EEA country. This regulation does not enable a person to become entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment, or any other benefit, for the first time after leaving the UK.
People will not be able to get a Winter Fuel Payment in another EEA country if they left the UK before 5 January 1998. This is because they will have left before the scheme began and will not have qualified for a payment.
The Winter Fuel Payment was designed primarily to help people living in the United Kingdom. The Government is content that its approach to paying Winter Fuel Payments to people living in the EEA is both reasonable and lawful.

From the VAR VILLAGE VOICE _ USE YOUR VOTE!

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 EXPATS UNITE –

OR ELSE!

I don’t know whether you noticed or not, but there was an interesting headline in newspapers recently, announcing that President Sarkozy was proposing that French Expatriates, those now living and working overseas, should be represented more fully in the French Senate, by their own Deputés.. He was proposing that the French in Britain, at least 400,000 at last count, should have their specific representative, as should also French citizens in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Monaco, Latin America, the US, the Asia Pacific region, the middle East, and Africa.

Not surprisingly the Socialist left howled with rage, denouncing the scheme as “Closet Gerry Mandering” (a hark back to corrupt politics in the UK), further saying “Studies show French people living abroad are more likely to vote for a centre right party than a left wing party.”

Considering that these same expats have likely left the country because of these same left wing, obstructionalist, strike riven, extremely expensive but somewhat unbalanced policies, in order to earn a living, they have a point.

And the hell with Democracy, and the right of everyman to a vote.

However at least the French Socialists had the guts to say it out loud and admit it.

Whereas of course, our own Dear New Lab UK Government has never had the guts to admit that it will do absolutely anything to deny the right to Expatriates to vote.

First of all they limited one’s right to vote in the UK, based on number of years living outside the UK, meantime welcoming thousands, upon hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers, legal or illegal, (and benefit claimants) into the inner cities, their political power base.

You as an Expatriate may well be paying your taxes to the UK, but they will do their utmost to deny you the vote.

And Registering to vote from overseas becomes ever more complicated.

The latest salvo in the campaign, which followed shortly on the most disastrous Budget in modern history, when New Lab, thinly disguised as the newly totally politicised Civil Service, let leash their political heavily overpaid spin meister PR Rottweiler’s on “Benefit Fraudsters” on the Costa Blanca, Costa Money, Spain.

This achieved headlines only on BBC news but very little elsewhere. Why, one wonders.

This heavily mis-targeted salvo left everyone wondering for heaven’s sake, why wasn’t the Dept. of Social Security pursuing the rampant Benefit Fraud – and by god it is rampant all over the UK – back home. Hallo, excuse me, where have you been all these years?

But of course, anything to try and take the attention of what actually was happening back at home, including the hugely rich and disgusting Smeargate scandal straight out of Downing Street, featuring New Lab Rottweilers, Damian McBride and Derek Draper - and those nasty people who live abroad, theoretically in the lap of luxury, all those rich gits, are just sitting targets, right! Never mind that lots of them, in fact most of them, are right minded British citizens, who have paid into the UK systems all their working lives, many of whom still pay tax to the UK.

Therefore, as New Lab reasoning goes, “They are not going to vote for us, therefore find any reason possible to discriminate against them and disenfranchise them.”

Democracy hell!

For example rightful Disability Benefits for Expats. The fight goes on. MP’s like Roger Gale, of Thanet North are fighting tooth and nail on behalf of Expats for their rights.

See below an extract of letter written by Roger Gale to Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled of the Dept. of Works Pensions –which Dept. had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the European Court of Justice and whom ever since have been dragging their feet in executing what the ECJ says is a fair judgment.

“I have to reiterate that it seems to me that the Government is seeking to find every way of avoiding the spirit and to some extent the letter of the findings of the European Court of Justice.

….I want, however, to at this stage take issue with one very specific point made in the second and third paragraphs of the second page of your letter.

I simply cannot accept that it is reasonable for you to assert that “where no appeal was made, decisions made before the ECJ Ruling on the 18th October cannot now be revised because it was not until that court ruling that these decisions were shown to be errors of law”. The fact of the matter is that your decision makers made erroneous decisions that were erroneous in law and passed the finds of those decisions to claimants. Many claimants, not understanding the manner in which these matters work, will have assumed that to appeal would have been pointless and would not therefore at that point have exercised their rights. It was only once the European Court had exercised it’s judgement that many ex-patriot claimants became aware of the fact that they had the right of appeal and lodged those appeals. I believe, therefore, that you are wrong in substance and wrong in law in your assertion. I would ask you to address this single and specific issue immediately and I will revert to you with other matters arising from your letter in due course and once I have sought further opinions.”

Roger gale continued his fight in a letter to the BBC and other UK media following the despicable article (24 April) on benefit fraud in Spain, saying:

“Nobody should condone the abuse of our benefit system, wherever it takes place. The BBC did not need to send a camera crew and reporter on a "freebie" to the Costa del Sol or anywhere else in Spain to uncover instances of benefit fraud. We know that it is taking place on their doorstep in White City and the evidence is to be found using the sports facilities of the country on a daily basis as "disabled" claimants enjoy fresh air and exercise! The fact is that the government has, while making it harder for genuine claimants to receive benefits, signally failed to root out abuse of the system.

“It is a sadness, though, that this report will have distracted attention from the other side of this coin: while there are clearly some UK citizens living abroad and "playing the system" there are others facing illness and genuine hardship that are entitled to assistance that they are being denied.

“The European Court of Justice has ruled that Disability Living Allowance and Carers Allowance, for example, are "exportable" benefits but there is a significant number of UK citizens living within the EU and Switzerland who are finding it difficult if not impossible to claim benefits that they desperately need.

These are not "benefit scroungers". They are people who have, in the main, paid UK taxes throughout their working lives and who have chosen to retire to other countries within Europe. Many of them have served their country in the armed forces or the Foreign and Commonwealth office. They are now growing old and they should be receiving the assistance to which others, arriving in the UK having not paid a penny in UK tax at all, are apparently able to receive automatically.

“I believe that the government, while failing to control benefit fraud, is at the same time seeking to wriggle out of its obligations to a small but significant number of citizens(including some of my own constituents) and that is a disgrace that ought, also, to be highlighted by the UK media."

Re Sarkozy’s idea for MPS for Expats, I raised the idea with Roger Gale, who replied:

“Personally, although I appreciate that a lot of ex-pats would like "their own" MP, I still feel that if the system works as it is supposed to, if overseas voters write to the MP for their last UK address and if that MP then takes responsibility for his/her ex-pat constituents (as I do myself) then there should be no need for another representative. (There are, in fact, about 200 too many MPs in the UK already!)

I cannot influence the Labour party of course but I can and will try to ensure that Conservative MPs - and our candidates for the next election - appreciate the importance of representing their overseas constituents as well as seeking their votes!”

Roger Gale, MP.



So if you want your rights protected, REGISTER TO VOTE! Support your MP.

Distribution to Expat websites.

Anita Rieu-Sicart

EDITOR

VAR VILLAGE VOICE
1142 Route des Miquelets
83510 Lorgues
Tel: 04 94 04 49 60
E: anita@varvillagevoice.com
web: www.varvillagevoice.com

Extract of a letter sent to Mr. Timms MP Financial Secretary to the Treasury

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Mr. Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury,
HM Treasury,
1, Horse Guards Road, London,
SW1A 2HQ
"..............
Three teachers all with identical teaching careers (except as described below) and all with the same superannuation payments to the same teachers’ superannuation scheme.
a/. A British citizen, taught in a local authority school
b/. A British citizen, taught in a private school.
c/. A French citizen, taught in a local authority school.

All three retire to France. All require home-help support (this attracts a 50% rebate of the costs against tax in France).

The pensions of b/. and c/. are taxed in France.
The pension of a/. is required to be taxed in the UK as his service is deemed to be ‘to the British Government or local government’ – These are the rules of the Double Taxation Convention between Britain and France.

The taxation burden of a/. is considerably greater than b/. or c/. largely, though not entirely, because the rebates on tax which accrue to the costs of the home help are not available to a/. since his tax is paid to the UK.

------------------
A. I taught 8 years in the private sector and 24 years in the ’state’ sector. Nevertheless all 100% of my pension is taxed in the UK.

Question. Will you agree with me that under the rules one quarter of my pension should be ‘exportable’ to France?

B. Because of the French taxation system vis-à-vis the British imposition of the Double Taxation Convention on my pension, I am at least 1000 euros a year worse off than the retired teachers who fall under category b/. or c/.
Question . Will you agree that this is an inequitable situation?

C. The above heavier tax load could be resolved if I renounced my British nationality and adopted French nationality.

Question. Would you advise me to change my national status to achieve equitability in taxation?
Since your answer to this third (rhetorical) question must surely (?) be ‘no’. Then I must ask you;-
What will you (HM Government) do to ensure that my taxation burden is equitable? ..."

DLA, Attendance or Carer’s Allowances -- Pensioners AND OTHERS who have been deprived of their rights by the action of Whitehall! ACT!

To return to introductory posting of this blog.(Four Concerns)... click

This posting is now out-of -date but is retained for interest. - More recent postings on benefits (see Index) should be read.

On February 24th it seemed that much has been achieved.
Please refer to the Concern 1 links.
The matter still lies in limbo-land.
Read the sterling efforts of Roger Gale M.P.

Letter from Tima Hamilton...
Along with some fellow campaigners, we have decided on an email "bombing campaign" to force the DWP/Exportability Team to sit up and take notice. Here is what we would like people to do:

"For those who adhered to the Exportability Team's advice that "there is no need to contact us again on this matter", may I suggest that this is totally ignored (as we are!) and that all affected parties send an email demanding the reinstatement and back payment of their DLA (care component), Carers or Attendance Allowance in accordance with ECJ ruling C-299/05 of 18 October 2007. NOTE: Make sure that you put the email for the personal attention of: Ms Kettle.

regards Tina Hamilton

You can also refer to the reply made to the House of Commons on 2 February, during questions to the Works and Pensions team, by Ms Rosie Winterton (to MP Roger Gale's question see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u6dE0uETsI), whereby she stated:

"We have been clear that if people claimed the benefit before they moved abroad, they are entitled to continue to claim it."

This statement has been reiterated in a letter to Roger Gale, a copy of which can be downloaded from: http://www.paysansgrigny.com/dla-campaign.html and attached to your email.

The email address (in case you don't have it to hand) is:
EXPORTABILITY.TEAM@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK

In addition, copy the same email to the following two address:

ministers@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
This is the email address for Minister for Pensions, Ms Winterton's office.

dcpu.customer-services@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
This is the email address to make official complaints to in respect to the Exportability Team (and any other DWP department).

When you receive the bog standard excuse from the Exportability Team, send a copy of their reply to with a suitable complaint to the customer services address (line above)."