As you may have heard, the French Government recently issued a bill of law (projet de loi de finances rectificatives pour 2003) including the introduction of a special tax status for foreign executives temporarily working in France.

This new system would allow individuals who have been non-resident of France for a minimum of 10 years and who come to France for work purposes to be tax exempted on the part of their remuneration relating to their assignment allowances.

Such executives would be able to benefit from this tax exemption for a maximum of 5 years. They could also deduct their contributions to social security legal systems and to complementary pension schemes within certain limits.

These measures should enter into force as from 1 January 2004 and should apply only to executives arriving in France as from this date.

Please note that the above changes have still to be adopted by the Parliament and may still be amended.