France’s Constitutional Council overturned a 75 percent tax rate on incomes above €1 million euros, or $1.3 million, on Saturday.
“The decision, in response to a motion by opposition conservatives, is a huge blow to Socialist President François Hollande who had made the 75 percent rate his flagship tax measure as he sought to make the rich be seen to contribute more towards reducing the budget deficit,” Reuters reported.
The government had estimated the 75 percent tax rate could raise around 300 million euros a year as it battles to bring down the public deficit to below a European Union ceiling of 3 percent next year in the face of stalled growth.
The Constitutional Council, which rules on whether laws are constitutional, said in a statement that the way the upper rate was set to be imposed was unfair in the way it would affect different households.
The Constitutional Council announced it was overturning the 75 percent bracket on income over 1 million euros ($1.32million) because it represented a breach of equality of taxes, France24, the television broadcaster, reported.
Mr. Hollande said the rate would only be temporary, to help reduce France’s deficit. Most surprising to many was that French incomes are so relatively low that the rate would have to be paid by an estimated 1,500 people.
Rendezvous reported on actor Gerard Depardieu’s run-in with France’s prime minister and translated his cri de coeur into English as he declared his intention to renounce his French citizenship.
We’ve also followed closely other European countries’ efforts to get more revenue from the rich, whether individuals or corporations.
Are you cheering the French Constituional Court’s decision? Or do you think this is one more instance of the rich getting off scot-free?
IHT Rendezvous: France's 75 Percent Tax Rate Struck Down on Constitutional Grounds
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IHT Rendezvous: France's 75 Percent Tax Rate Struck Down on Constitutional Grounds
