Do we need to set up a business in France for internet selling?
My husband and I are both retired and have UK pensions. My daughter and her husband run a chambres d’hotes. My son-in-law also receives a UK pension. We all live permanently in France.
My daughter and I make small items (knitting and sewing) which we sell on the internet via etsy.com. This American company (etsy) provides many services including our website and charges 20 cents every four months for each item we put in our shop. When we sell an item they take 3.5% commission.
We started the internet shop in June 2014. I have kept a complete account of all our costs and expenses. All the transactions, both in and out, go through my English bank account. This is a joint account with my husband. When my husband and I took our figures for our tax return to our French accountant, I showed her my etsy shop expenses and income account which she ignored.
We want to be sure that we are running our small business correctly and need advice about doing this. For instance do we need a SIRET number and who needs to know about us?