What is looked upon with horror in some circles in the US is viewed as perfectly reasonable in France.
The French government is to impose an extra tax of 3% on annual income above 500,000 euros (£440,000; $721,000).
It is part of a package of measures to try to cut the country’s deficit by 12bn euros over two years.
The tax increase came after some of France’s wealthiest people had called on the government to tackle its deficit by raising taxes on the rich.
See, that wasn’t so hard was it?
Seems fair enough. If every country were to take such measures I don’t see any reason for a major setback in the economy of any country. Of course, one should take into account the fact that France’s population is only one-fifth of that of the US.But at least the initiative towards a workable solution has been taken in France by the affluent class. That is a commendable action!!
Thank you Professor for this update.
Cheers
Yvonne
Two of the largest generators of income in the US, one private and one corporate, pay very little tax or none at all: “offshore corporations” and “preferred shares”.
Corporations which are declared “offshore” really aren’t. Most times, they’re nothing more than a mailbox in a tax haven, while the corporation continues with business as usual in the US -- generating revenue and reaping the benefits of being in the US (e.g. police and fire services, military protection, et al). Such corporations cost the US in tax money spent but they do not contribute taxes at all.
Stocks or shares in corporations come in two forms, regular and preferred. Regular stock is taxed, but is also the stock which can vote on corporate decisions, thus anyone who wants to control a corporation needs to own them and pays taxes. But most shares sold by corporations are preferred shares, most of which are NOT taxable at all. The wealthy mostly buy preferred shares and live off the income from that, and pay little or no tax at all. Their income from regular shares is often “donated” to charities, effectively leaving them with no taxable income. A person working full time at walmart has more “declarable income” than most of the wealthiest people in the US.
THOSE are the people claimin to be “overtaxed”, those who are paying the least tax already. They want to be completely free of taxes, to have those who work to pay all the costs and carry the burden of society. Such people want a return to feudalism of medieval Europe or ancient Rome -- the wealthy aristocracy, the poor under the thumb of a privileged legal caste, and nothing else. But such a system is unsustainable and will eventually lead to economic collapse and revolution. Just ask the Romans and French.
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