French President François Hollande’s vow to levy a tax rate upwards of 75 percent on a portion of income above 1 million euros has many wealthy people inside the borders of La République running to their tax lawyers. The question they have: should we even bother remaining in France?
As the first socialist President since François Mitterand in 1995, Hollande, who once famously quipped “I don’t like the rich” has kept to his campaign promises–for now–even though the rate would be largely symbolic in nature. Approximately 20,000 citizens would incur such a high tax rate, and they would only contribute a fraction needed to balance France’s budget next year. However, Hollande is under pressure from voters who elected him in a protest against “les riches” who consist of business executives, football stars, celebrities and other high earners.
While Hollande’s solution seems to be another extreme manifestation of the ongoing battle between the 99% and the 1%, we often see Europeans in general, rich and poor, generally accepting of higher tax rates as a necessary evil. But tell that to Daniel Hannan, a British member of the European Parliament, and he would uneqivocally disagree.
Tea Party UK? Why Europeans Don’t Protest Taxation from on FORA.tv
