Hi Meg,
You go to the website of the MDA and you can print off their inscription forms. They will require proof that you are in fact an artist ie: photos of your most recent work. (This has to be 'artistic': paintings, sculpture etc. They do not accept 'artisans'. The benefits of insription with MDA is low cotisations but only if you earn above say 6000 € per year. This applies to tax as well. Other benefits include: you can claim unemployment benefit whilst still earning a living (if you are entitled) or RMI if you are not! With these benefits it all depends on a lot of things, like what your partner earns etc; Every year they will demand photos of recent work, plus what you have earned and sometimes receipts of work you have sold. Hope this is helpful and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. The website does explain quite a lot!
Sorry meg,
I wasn't clear about that. You don't pay any cotisation if you earn less than 6000€. You start to pay above that amount, the same applies to tax. I'm not totally sure, but the cotisation figure is probably higher. Obviously, you will need a good book/or website to present to galleries, but for the MDA, just a few photos will be enough. What do you do by the way?
Meg,
I've been looking through my paperwork (a mess but occasionally I can find stuff) and I remembered that you need to be careful when you register your activity with the maison des impots (tax office) there are several different regimes which, as an artist you can register. So, don't, don't,do anything drastic just yet. I,ve got a french friend, who made the mistake and she wasn't able to change the regime for a year, so consequently, had to pay under that regime for two years. I will update you on this and can help no doubt if you wish. As with all paperwork in france, it's a nightmare.
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