Actor Gerard Depardieu moved to Belgium at the first word of the 75 per cent tax (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
A tax measure introduced by France's socialist dominated government and recently elected President Francois Hollande, which would have placed a 75 per cent tax on incomes above $1.32 million, was overturned in the country's highest court Saturday.
A challenge to the tax was placed by opposition conservatives, whom the Constitutional Council sided with in the ruling, saying the the tax was unfair to millionaires and billionaires.
The tax, though only affecting a few thousand people in the country, would have provided revenues of roughly $400 million a year for the economically hit country--a number fairly small compared to the country's deficit but one which progressive-tax supporters cheered as a measure that would force the wealthy to begin paying their fair share.
Shortly after the ruling, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated that the government would reintroduce a revised version of the tax for next year to address the criticisms of the Constitutional Council, insinuating that the fight was not over.
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Jacob ChamberlainJacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
A tax measure introduced by France's socialist dominated government and recently elected President Francois Hollande, which would have placed a 75 per cent tax on incomes above $1.32 million, was overturned in the country's highest court Saturday.
A challenge to the tax was placed by opposition conservatives, whom the Constitutional Council sided with in the ruling, saying the the tax was unfair to millionaires and billionaires.
The tax, though only affecting a few thousand people in the country, would have provided revenues of roughly $400 million a year for the economically hit country--a number fairly small compared to the country's deficit but one which progressive-tax supporters cheered as a measure that would force the wealthy to begin paying their fair share.
Shortly after the ruling, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated that the government would reintroduce a revised version of the tax for next year to address the criticisms of the Constitutional Council, insinuating that the fight was not over.
