2024-08-14 19:26:41
According to their proposal, many wealthy savers, concerned about seeing the left edging closer to power, are interested in life insurance contracts in Luxembourg, believing that their savings will be better protected as a result.
Guillaume Gimbal, director of wealth management at Swiss Life Banque Privée, has seen a “significant increase in the number of requests” from clients for life insurance in Luxembourg, a country known for its tax attractiveness, after Emmanuel Macron announced its dissolution on June 9.
From €500,000
Guillaume Gimbal, who heads a team of around 10 advisers and speaks to clients who trust him with at least €500,000, says the product “gives reassurance (…) because the specter of taxation of savings looms a bit”. He points out that even at the turn of the 2010s, the “golden age” of the Luxembourg contract, against the backdrop of the Greek debt crisis and concerns about the stability of the eurozone, “our demand was not as strong as it is today”.
This concern concerns one of the flagship measures of the New Popular Front (NFP) program, which came first in the second round of legislative elections: the taxation of capital income through the re-establishment of the Wealth Solidarity Tax (ISF). “We experienced the absence of the ISF over the years,” the wealth management director said, “and we began to prepare our clients for its very likely return.”
If the Luxembourg contract does not exempt the French client from taxation in his country of origin, the investments can be used to reduce taxes. “We have never experienced a period in which the tax burden could not be optimized in a completely traditional way,” emphasizes Guillaume Gimbal, who currently invites his clients not to “go into panic”.
Life insurance contracts in Luxembourg have advantages, depending on who markets them: wide range of investments (including US dollars), priority over all other creditors (including the state, employees and social security organizations) in the event of company bankruptcy. Insurance companies…
French banks know this: they have a subsidiary in Luxembourg that markets these savings products exclusively for French clients. With a minimum payout of €500,000, Crédit Agricole Life Assurance (Cali) “offers a range of life insurance and capitalisation products designed for French tax residents”. BPCE Life, Cali, Sogelife (Societe Generale) and Cardif Lux Vie (BNP Paribas) have a combined total of close to €65 billion in assets under management in Luxembourg.
1723965651
#Faced #spectre #taxation #Luxembourg #attracts #wealthy #French
