Man in France finds gold in inherited house, has to give 45% to government

Discussion in 'Budget & Taxes' started by kazenatsu, Jul 19, 2021.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    A man in Normandy France discovered 100kg of gold coins and bars hidden in a house he inherited from a dead relative.

    Now he will have to pay 45% percent of it in inheritance tax to the French government.

    The government might take an even higher percentage of that if they cannot prove the dead relative paid income taxes on that accumulated wealth during his lifetime.

    https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201611231047748719-frenchman-treasure-tax/


    Some of you will say "If only we had taxes more like how they are in Europe!"
     
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  2. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hopefully he found a lot more than he reported...
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2021
  3. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Donor

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    Hahaha!
     
  4. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    lucky guy, nice inheritance
     
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  5. joesnagg

    joesnagg Banned

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    What comes of not keeping your mouth firmly shut and slowly cashing them in as needed....oh, and we all know damned well "they'll" determine by magic that no taxes were originally paid and take 90%. I envy his good fortune and laugh at his stupidity.
     
  6. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    he inherited a mansion, "A Frenchman inherited a mansion", sounds like he is gonna be just fine
     
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  7. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    We do. He would be in the top bracket of 37 % here in the US. Treasure is taxable at normal income rates
     
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  8. Creasy Tvedt

    Creasy Tvedt Well-Known Member

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  9. VotreAltesse

    VotreAltesse Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    He could loose everything from not telling it.
     
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  10. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Apparently in France it would be very difficult to "cash in" that amount of gold without the government finding out about it.

    The coin buyer, who is licensed and taxed, has to report the sale. In no time the tax agency would be knocking on this guy's door, wanting to know how he came to own these antique coins. Where did he buy it from and when.

    THIS is the problem with electronic tracking of sales, and eventually, a cash-free society. His gold would be worthless - he couldn't account for it without giving three-quarters of it in taxes; and he couldn't sell it.

    If he tries to board a flight out of the country and he doesn't report what he is carrying, he risks it being confiscated from him at the security screening station. They have a requirement that large amounts of money or precious metals worth over 10,000 euros have to be reported if brought aboard commercial flights.
     
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  11. wgabrie

    wgabrie Well-Known Member Donor

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    Yeah, this poor man! Sometimes having rich relatives is a curse.

    But (I think) even here in the USA only the first million or so is exempt from taxes. I know the amount has fluctuated over the years based on whether there was a Democrat or Republican government. I haven't kept up.

    And, yes the digital money problem will make many democrats wish that they had lower taxes.
     
  12. Hoosier8

    Hoosier8 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You have no clue what it takes to maintain such.
     
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  13. Tejas

    Tejas Banned

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    .

    This is the same cultural marxist France that will require everyone attending most public venues [including restaurants] to have vaccination passports. Big Brother - Macron - needs that tax money to further oppress the French people.

    .
     
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  14. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    lol, right, I would sell it
     
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  15. Hoosier8

    Hoosier8 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Probably a good choice.
     
  16. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    From the website americansfortaxfairness.org:

    The vast majority of estates — 99.9% — do not pay federal estate taxes. While the top estate tax rate is 40%, the average tax rate paid is just 17%. The estate tax is only paid on assets greater than $5.3 million per individual ($10.6 million per couple).

    I think Trump had wanted to do away with it, altogether. I will leave it up to someone else to figure out how much 100 kg of gold is worth, at today's rate (though are we sure that either it was all 24 carat gold, or that the 100 kg is the total of pure gold, after taking caratage into account?)-- it is too late for me (or too early, if I decide not to sleep). And we have no way to estimate the estate's value, either. Still, it would be a good deal less than the French estate tax. Then again, the U.S. offers far fewer services & benefits, than the French system.
     
  17. wgabrie

    wgabrie Well-Known Member Donor

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    The article says that man found $3.7 million worth of gold. So he would still walk away with $2 million. But someone said he might be charged 90% tax if he couldn't prove that the gold was taxed when it was bought.
     
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  18. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    Oh, I hadn't read the article, only the posts, & from somewhere got the false impression that it had been a couple-- so thanks for setting me straight, & for the gold's value. My point had been that, had that occurred in the U.S., where an individual's first $5.3 million in inheritance is untaxed, as long as his estate was valued at no more than $1.6 mil., he would have owed NO TAX.
     
  19. cristiansoldier

    cristiansoldier Well-Known Member

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    Wow.... I wonder how old those coins were. They list the house as being in the Normandy region. Maybe is is part of the missing Templar treasure horde. 5000 gold coins sounds like a lot regardless of the time period.
     
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  20. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Probably not that old. I'm pretty sure this guy's father had bought those coins during his lifetime.
     
  21. cristiansoldier

    cristiansoldier Well-Known Member

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    That takes all of the mystery and fun out of it. I love those stories when people find old treasures with a connection to history. I remember watching a video of a brother and sister that inherited an old manor house in England and they could not afford to pay for the cost of replacing the roof. They were clearing out the water damage from the bedrooms when they found some old paper propping up one of the bed post. The paper was an unseen composition from an old composer, Mozart??? maybe, that had been there for 100s of years. They sold it at auction and it paid for the roof and more.
     
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  22. Matthewthf

    Matthewthf Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    He could put it on a ship and go to another country to sell it right?
     
  23. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The law requires that he has to pay VAT taxes on the export of gold. Even bringing gold into the country requires the transaction details on a customs form to be filled out. If the authorities find out about it, an investigation would probably be conducted, and there could be a prison sentence.
    If he lands in another country outside the EU, the customs officials there are going to search through his belongings when he arrives.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2021
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  24. DEFinning

    DEFinning Well-Known Member Donor

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    It seems like you have given this a lot of thought. So, here's a scenario. Let's say I own a boat. And I want to go for a nice sail. But when I come back to port, instead of the boat-slip I'd left, just on my home country's side of the border, I'm landing at some portage over at the other side of the border. I won't believe you, if you tell me that every inch of every country's shoreline is so closely monitored that no small boat could reach land without being intercepted, first, by the Coast Guard. And not everywhere one can land a boat, I don't think, has a Customs checkpoint (does it?).

    Worst case scenario, you have already scouted out the coastline, by car, so know at what largely-deserted beach to anchor your boat, motor in to shore, on an inflatable raft, and safely stash your loot (not necessarily on the beach; maybe in a storage locker?), before sailing back home. And what would be so suspicious if, the following day, you were in the mood to take a drive along the coast, maybe across the border?

    Not that I have ever given it any thought.
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2021
  25. Montegriffo

    Montegriffo Well-Known Member

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    That report is incorrect.
    The distant relative who inherited the house sold it to the government sight unseen.
    It was the mayor and a couple of his colleagues who found the gold in jam jars when they inspected the property.
    The property belonged to the government when the gold was found.
    If they are now giving 55% of its value to the relative that's rather generous considering they were under no obligation to do it.

    https://www.connexionfrance.com/Fre...-jam-jars-in-junk-filled-French-house-in-Jura
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2021
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