[Nick]

We have just got a bill for 552 euros. We only moved to France in September 2008so its only for 4 months. It seems a bit steep or have we done something wrong.
Have just been looking at a copy of our tax form. We declared interest from the money we invested from the sale of our house in the UK, this was in section 2 of the form Interets et autres revenus assimiles (credit d'impots inclus)TR section.

 

[Bevdeforges]

The prelevement sociaux is a more or less flat tax assessed against any "non-salary" income. (It runs about 8%.)

You can always go in and talk to the tax inspector if you think something has been calculated (or reported) incorrectly. Interest and dividends received from outside France should also be reported on form 2047 (as should any income from outside France) to assure that you receive the proper credit from the French tax authorities, but it will depend on whether or not the amount is subject to tax in the country where it was earned.
Cheers,
Bev