In the absence of an applicable treaty, a taxpayer is only required to meet one out of three alternative criteria - personal, professional or economic- as set forth by article 4 B of the French Tax code, in order to be considered as domiciled in France for tax purposes. Concerning the personal criteria, Article 4 B states that persons having their "home" or "principal place of abode" in France are French tax residents. Pursuant to this provision, an individual who works abroad but leaves his spouse and children (home) in France is considered as a French tax resident. An individual who resides in France for more than 183 days during a civil year (principal abode) is also considered as a French tax resident. On November 3, 1995, the French Supreme Administrative Court (Conseil d'Etat) considered that the "principal place of abode" could determine the French tax domicile of a taxpayer, but only if the taxpayer had no "home" in France.

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