HEY MILLIONAIRES! You Thought You Had It Bad? Look What They’re Doing In France!

By admin on July 3, 2012

eiffel tower, france, paris

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced today that the government will tax incomes of more than €1 million ($ 1.25 million) at a rate of 75 percent, according to Bloomberg.

That’s in addition of a new 45 percent tax rate for the wealthy, and a capital income tax equal to that of wages.

That compares to 35 percent for the highest bracket of earners in the United States in 2012.

French President Francois Hollande had proposed a 75 percent tax rate for earnings above €1 million in late February during his campaign. “The tax rate should be 75% because it’s not possible to have that level of income,” Hollande argued.

Such rates are far higher than those proposed by the controversial Buffett Rule in the US, which would force anyone making over $ 1 million to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes.

France will also increase taxes on banks and oil firms, but cancel a recent increase to value-added taxes. Ayrault also said that France will grow just 0.3 percent this year, in comparison to earlier estimates of 0.7 percent.

Last but not least, the government announced that it would split banks’ activities between speculative and retail. We’ll have more details on what this means as they develop.

Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »