France: Er, we are thoroughly committed to this 75% tax-on-the-rich thing. Sort of.
posted at 6:41 pm on September 7, 2012 by Erika Johnsen
“So, President Hollande: Now that the stark realities of actually implementing a 75 percent marginal tax rate on incomes above €1m a year, which you used as an overtly populist ploy to get yourself elected as the leader of the French Socialist party, are coming home to roost, what are your government’s intentions? Do you plan to stick with your promise even if it means driving every last millionaire from your shores, or convolute it with a bunch of loopholes to convince the wealth creators to stick around?”
“…Yes.”
Oof. From the Financial Times:
President François Hollande’s socialist government was facing mounting questions on Thursday night over whether it was preparing to back down on its controversial 75 per cent marginal tax rate for the rich.
Responding to reports that the rate would be reduced to 67 per cent, that all non-salary income would be exempt and couples would only be exposed on joint income above €2m, officials said no decisions had yet been made on how the tax would be levied. …
But the government is determined to find a face-saving way of formally retaining the 75 per cent headline figure. “The 75 per cent rate will be applied,” said one official.
French business leaders have stepped up the pressure in recent weeks on Mr Hollande to limit the tax, fearing an exodus of top earners and a drought of foreign investors and managers willing to come to France.
Oh, but for the many dilemmas of actually converting rhetorical socialist dogma into action — what to do, what to do. Mr. Hollande’s promise to soak the rich was one of the more popular rallying cries of his campaign last spring, but seeing as how it’s a policy that any serious person can realize is obviously doomed to fail right from the get-go, he’s in a bit of pickle, and the government has to announce its decision before the 2013 budget is due in two weeks. But please, while the rest of the eurozone’s economies go into a downward spiral as a result of all of their spending-happy central planning, by all means double down on your free-enterprise-suppressing policies. I’m sure that this time, they’ll work.
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I wonder if Obama is envious?
pat on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Obama can offer some tips on how to jump start a country..
No..
Seriously..
Electrongod on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Maybe it is time to look at the Socialist Ideology behind their economic policies…?
Seven Percent Solution on May 15, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Guess I’d better get rid of those euros that I have left from my trip to Ireland in March, eh?
Bob's Kid on May 15, 2013 at 9:26 PM
BREAKING:
Other People’s money runs out; EU in decline.
BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:27 PM
I wonder if Obama knows.
Well, it is on the news so there’s a chance.
BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:28 PM
Huh, maybe someone should’ve warned them or something.
squint on May 15, 2013 at 9:33 PM
As Maggie Thatcher was wont to say, “Sooner or later they run out of other peoples money.”
Screw the EU…
Scrumpy on May 15, 2013 at 9:36 PM
…JugEars:like everything else…”I first learned about this…from news reports…like everybody else!”
KOOLAID2 on May 15, 2013 at 9:41 PM
Once upon a time, America had an economy strong enough to lead the world out of recessions.
Then, Progressives came along and America changed.
MTF on May 15, 2013 at 9:46 PM
Hmmmm…..seems all that “free stuff” in the EU wasn’t “free” after all.
Is Barry taking notes?
GarandFan on May 15, 2013 at 9:48 PM
You know it is time for personal intervention when you are reading about economics and politics on HA while the tornado sirens are blaring outside.
Limerick on May 15, 2013 at 9:49 PM
This isn’t good for North America, either.
rickv404 on May 15, 2013 at 9:50 PM
They need a real federal system like we have in the US. That way, the left can screw around until Mercedes looks like GM and Germany goes the way of Michigan.
Then they blame the Swiss or British investors and bankers.
They don’t have our racism but with a little imagination they can whip up a decent copy in reliving wars or soccer games which didn’t work out like they wanted. Ok, it is lame but their version of a Harley sounds like a sewing machine, anyway.
IlikedAUH2O on May 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM
The only way for the Euroweenies to get out of these awful economic doldrums is to raise taxes.
SparkPlug on May 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Downward spiral? Wait till they hit Barock bottom.
SparkPlug on May 15, 2013 at 10:00 PM
Green shoots!!
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 15, 2013 at 10:02 PM
I find this bit of “news” interesting because there was never much popular support for the EU. They had to stop holding referenda for their retarded Constitution because it went down in flames the few times it was tried (so they then snuck it in by calling it the Lisbon TREATY, instead … and as a TREATY it didn’t need a plebiscite … yup).
Maybe support has dipped even further but the EU was never able to withstand any popular vote. Heck, in Britain they made a sport of intentionally not letting anyone vote on anything about it.
All that said, Eurotrash is just doing what Eurotrash does … killing themselves and destroying everything within arm’s length of them. They’ve been pulling this destructive suicidal junk for almost a century, now.
Let us not forget that Barky was always a bigger hit in Europe than he ever was, here. Heck, the biggest political rally (possibly in history) was Barky’s illegal, un-Constitutional, un-American and offensive Berlin rally for Germans. Barky never should have been allowed to return to the US after that. The Eurotrash loved him … they should have been forced to keep the retard.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 15, 2013 at 10:07 PM
Can I buy Spain yet on Ebay?
Capitalist Hog on May 15, 2013 at 10:11 PM
How long before they change the EU to eewwww?
socalcon on May 15, 2013 at 11:00 PM
Just as a technical reminder – European GDP estimates are not annualized, so if one wants to compare it to what the BEA puts out there, multiply by 4 to get a close-enough-for-government-work approximation. That makes the overall rate -0.8%, and Germany’s rate +0.4%, on an annualized basis.
As for the continued German support for the pEU, they must be thinking that Brussels is once again in Greater Germany.
Steve Eggleston on May 15, 2013 at 11:26 PM
S&H is going to kill you.
trigon on May 15, 2013 at 11:47 PM
Totally agreed!!
jimver on May 16, 2013 at 2:10 AM
If we had accurate data, instead of politically massaged propaganda, we would see Europe is not alone.
dogsoldier on May 16, 2013 at 8:02 AM
Not yet. But I wouldn’t say it’s impossible that we’ll see such a thing in our lifetimes.
We’re getting a front-row seat at the final stages of what happens to nations that subscribe to some moronic liberal sing-around-the-campfire version of international unity, with a generous dose of economic socialism used in the recipe.
MelonCollie on May 16, 2013 at 8:14 AM