moving to UK from France

[tonton]

My wife is French. She is moving to the UK to be with me (she has always lived in France). She provides training courses for veterinary surgeons. Is it more cost effective to run your own (small) business in UK than in France? Is it better for her to register as a UK resident for tax purposes (or does she even have any choice in this)? She may well continue to give these training courses both in the UK and in France.
many thanks

[pjclar02]

Hello there

Your wife will not have any choice in her residency status, beyond deciding how many days to spend in each country. Whether she is resident in the UK or France (or both) is a question of fact, based on the amount of days spent in each country.

Whether it is better to run the business in the UK or in France very much depends upon the circumstances, what her profit is likely to be, how she proposes to set up (sole trader vs limited company) and how much business will be carried on each country. France has recently introduced a self-employed status called "auto-entrepreneur" which is a low cost, low admin way for a sole trader to operate in France, with low social charges up to a certain level of turnover. Whether this is available in your wife's case and whether it would be more beneficial than the tax regime in the UK will again depend on the facts.

Its worth speaking to an accountant in both countries to get to grips with the issues.