France plans 75% tax rate on rich!

[coldstream]

Yeah, the rich never spend anything there, nor do they already pay taxes on whatever they spend their money on, no property taxes or anything like that. They also don't already supply the gov't with more tax euros than the 90% of other taxpayers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_France

I just think that's a sign of a seriously disoriented and unhealthy society.. if wealth is so polarized that even with their advantageous tax rates.. the rich still provide the bulk of tax revenues.. with the impoverished masses paying the smaller part... and even with every country in the West awash in debt.

The key regressive taxes are the VAT, value added tax, a tax that penalizes the poorest.. and the flattening out of the progressive income tax system.. ESPECIALLY.. with respect to Capital Gains. Throw on top of that the loss of almost all Tariff revenues... once the major source of funds for governments.. through Free Trade.. which in turn has destroyed French industry.

And the loss of sovereign control of currency and credit for nations.. through Monetarism.. free trade in money.. and you have a prescription for economic collapse. (I won't even mention deregulation and privatization).

 

[L Gilbert]

I just think that's a sign of a seriously disoriented and unhealthy society.. if wealth is so polarized that even with their advantageous tax rates.. the rich still provide the bulk of tax revenues.. with the impoverished masses paying the smaller part... and even with every country in the West awash in debt.

The key regressive taxes are the VAT, value added tax, a tax that penalizes the poorest.. and the flattening out of the progressive income tax system.. ESPECIALLY.. with respect to Capital Gains. Throw on top of that the loss of almost all Tariff revenues... once the major source of funds for governments.. through Free Trade.. which in turn has destroyed French industry.

And the loss of sovereign control of currency and credit for nations.. through Monetarism.. free trade in money.. and you have a prescription for economic collapse. (I won't even mention deregulation and privatization).

You've been reading http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html again, haven't you?

 

[Bar Sinister]

Why should people be penalised just because they managed to become rich and successful?

It's hardly an incentive, is it? People will think; "I'm not going to set up my own business be rich and successful because my government will punish me for doing so."

If the French Socialists think that taxing those who worked hard enough to be rich and successful will help their economy then they are in for a rude awakening.

It's good to see David Cameron - who is reducing Britain's income tax rate from 50% to 45% - trying to encourage France's rich and successful businessmen to bring their businesses with them to London.

What is the penalty? Has anyone other than a lottery winner ever become wealthy without building a business based on the efforts of hundreds or even thousands of others? I can't think of any, and I doubt that you will be able to either.

 

[coldstream]

You've been reading http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html again, haven't you?

No.. my economic political philosophy draws from Freidrich List's National System of Political Economy.. written in the 1840's but the original anti-Free Trade manifesto.

AND works by some Catholic intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th century.. such as GK Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.. who developed an economic system the became known as Distributism... based on widely distributed ownership of the factors of production. This was inpired by the Social Encyclicals of Leo XIII and Pius XI.

Distributism was naive and idealistic.. but formed one the foundations for the Progressive and Co-operative movements in the 20th Century. Sovereign management of trade, production, currency, credit and equitable distribution of wealth.. through government supervision and oversight of 'Free Markets'.. was something that informed Canadian economic policy from Confederation until the the 1970s by way of its National Policies and revenue schemes... when everything started to fall apart.

Essentially this loosely defined system is known and the 'Third Way'. It rejects both the Socialism of Karl Marx.. and the laissez-faire Capitalism of Adam Smith and David Ricardo.. BOTH of those have shown themselves to be UTTER failures.

It does, however, prescribe a DIRIGIST and responsible role for government... and therefor is completely opposed to the Free Market, libertarian mania.. that is driving the world into a catastrophic economic collapse. And unlike Communism and Free Market Capitalism.. it is consistent with human freedom.

 

[gore0bsessed]

Perhaps not, but in the very least I bet a pile of their money will end up in Swiss, Cayman, etc. banks.

it doesn't already ?

 

[JLM]

It won't work! :smile: