The French legislative body passes a decisive vote, advocating for the implementation of a tax on the wealthy.
During the financial discussions in the French Parliament recently, deputies largely agreed on Saturday to implement a tax on billionaires in the upcoming period, disregarding the opposition from the conservative administration. Those with wealth exceeding a million Euros will be subjected to a 2% annual tax. Nevertheless, the specifics of the wealth tax are yet to be confirmed.
Laurent Saint-Martin, Budget Minister under President Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance party, expressed his disagreement with this proposal on Saturday, asserting that such a tax is unheard of in other nations and could drive away potential investors.
Eric Coquerel, the head of the finance committee representing the left-wing populist party La France Insoumise,Countered that this perspective is beyond comprehension for 95% of the country's citizens. The affluent individuals "we're talking about" have amassed fortunes amounting to "tens of billions of Euros" over the past 2 decades.
Macron adopted a policy of minimal taxes since 2017, resulting in the government carrying a massive debt burden. The recent conservative Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, has announced plans to raise taxes predominantly on large corporations and implement budget cuts, such as job losses in the public sector, to gather a total of 60 billion Euros by 2025. On Saturday, Saint-Martin revealed that the draft budget also includes "non-permanent, targeted, and exceptional contributions" from the wealthy.
The Commission will be responsible for finalizing the specifics of the wealth tax, as disputes between Laurent Saint-Martin and Eric Coquerel persist regarding its implementation. Despite Laurent Saint-Martin's concerns about the potential impact of a billionaire tax on attracting investors, The Commission must find a balance to address France's mounting debt and wealth inequality.
