Sorry, Gérard Depardieu: France's 75 Percent Tax Rate Is a Go
It seems like it was only a year ago that France's Constitutional Council declared that President François Hollande's 75 Percent "Millionaire's Tax" was unconstitutional. Now that same court has given a revised version of the policy the go-ahead.
Before, individuals who earned over one million euros (about 1.375 million American dollars) would have to pay a 75 percent tax. But that was struck down because the French court found it wouldn't be evenly applied.
Now the tax will be levied against the employers who pay out salaries exceeding one million euros. While French football clubs, home of several high earning players, and Gérard Depardieu have protested the tax, the majority of French people are in favor of it. This makes sense, since the majority of French people do not earn or pay salaries of over one million euros.
The good news for employers is that the tax is temporary; it'll apply to 2013 and 2014 earnings only. And it's capped at 5 percent of the company's revenue. France is hoping the tax will reduce its budget deficit (though that is in the billions, while the estimated take from this tax is about 210 million euros annually, so it won't do much) and encourage companies to distribute salaries more evenly.
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The best news of all (unless you're Russian) is that Gérard Depardieu, who angrily left France last December to avoid to supertax, is now a Russian citizen.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/12/sorry-gerard-depardieu-frances-75-percent-tax-rate-go/356556/
