French Socialists Approve 75% Tax Rate for High Earners

I find it amusing tht if you are against higher taxes, then it turns into a class-warfare thread.

*shakes a pitchfork and torch*
Burn the witch-er. . . uum, I mean rich! Yeh! Burn the rich!

GOOD!!!

Originally posted by beezzer
I find it amusing tht if you are against higher taxes, then it turns into a class-warfare thread.

*shakes a pitchfork and torch*
Burn the witch-er. . . uum, I mean rich! Yeh! Burn the rich!

Im pretty sure it was the rich that started "class war-fare"

You ever read a book called "Chavs" by Owen Jones? Brilliant book.

I applaude if this really turns out to be true. 75% income taxes for people who earn almost 20 times as much as a good earning employee CAN afford to pay that much taxes!! It's just not fair that someone earns 20 times as much and does not work 20 times as much in return. So let's get that back by taxes!!

Very good step and I hope other countries will follow. That IMO is the easiest and best way to get out of that ridiculous financial crises which was caused by the rich anyway!

Sweden had 90% taxes in the times when Astrid Lingren became rich and famous with her books. And I saw an interview where she said HERSELF that she was proud to be able to pay these 90% because she COULD do that and wanted to treturn some of her success to the people WHO MADE HER THAT SUCCESSFUL. That's the attitude that I would like all rich people to have. Not the same old egotrip which keeps the fires of hell burning.

TRUE Socialism has and always will have my vote!

reply to post by FlyersFan

FlyersFan, first of all, Europe is much more socialist than US.
Then within Europe, France can be leaning quite left.
Even before going into the theory, I would like to lay out a few facts.
We could debate about this high tax for ages, it has actually sparked huge debate in France, as this measure had been announced by Francois Hollande during his campaign.
N. Sarkozy has been president from 2007 until 2012. By the way, he once advocated that France uses the subprime system, which was a fantastic one, so Sarkozy told us, and when the subprimes blasted our economies, he was calling for bankers to be put in jail.
Well, Nicolas Sarkozy has always called for lower taxes on the rich people so that they could invest their wealth in the economy.
I do not want to spark a war of ideals, I believe his position was defendable and could somehow make sense.
He therefore created what he called a "fiscal shield", so that the top rich people would pay less tax.
an example, Mrs Bettencourt, the wealthiest woman in France, was given back 30 millions Euros in 2010 (or was it 2011?) due to this fiscal shield. 30 millions euros!!! That's 50 cent EACH French person (including babies!) has given her, the richest woman in France!!!
Then, 5 years into Sarkozy's presidency, unemployment in France is at all-time high, our debt has tripled, our industry is almost gone (cars, etc.).
These facts help to understand why we are seeing a pink (colour of the French socialist party) wave in France, and partly explains the reason for the approval of this tax.
to finish, I would like to say that I do not belong to any party, do nto support either Mr Sarkozy or Mr Hollande (when people ask me if I'm happy that Francois Hollande is our president, I say "I will answer you in 6 months"), but I would like to lay these facts, to help you guys understand the context of this law.
Hope it helps

reply to post by FlyersFan

I would like to add that France has also approved a law that it is now illegal, in government owned companies (e.g. EDF, the national electricity producer), for the top dude to earn more than 20 times the lowest salary in the company.

reply to post by FlyersFan

Forgot one point: this law is for French people i.e. latin/mediterranean people, for whom tax evasion and cheating (cheating the government, jumping in a queue, etc.) is a national sports.
If you manage to evade tax, you're a hero among your friends!
Tax evasion is, in my opinion; the biggest contributor to the south European failing economies.
If everybody paid their taxes in France, Spain, Portugal, Spain, the countries would be very rich and prosperous. Just look at Holland and Germany, where tax evasion is, I believe, much lower than the southern European countries.

Originally posted by JailTales
That's because you're greedy. You're everything that is wrong with capitalists, so thanks for highlighting that.

So thanks for highlighting that ...

- YOU are greedy. you want what others have earned even though you haven't earned it.

- YOU want to impose your moral constraints on others ... something the left continually accuses the right of doing with abortion. And yet here is an example of the left doing it to the right.

- YOU have no right to tell a person what they can and can not earn .. what they can and can not have. Who do you think you are to tell others what is an appropriate amount of money to have etc etc ...

- What others do with their money is none of your business.

- YOU are everything that is wrong with the leeches and looters of the world, so thanks for highlighting that.

Originally posted by nuclear12346
Because its not like corporate welfare hasn't raped this world for trillions.

You have your benevolent governments to thank for that. Hence the term 'welfare'.

How dare they ask for a small % back.

'Small'???

If France has positive growth after these policies are implemented, it will be a big wake-up call to how much people are lying about the so called "job creators" worth.

I can't remember who said it, but the quote "If you want less of something, tax it" comes to mind. If you tax and demonize success and prosperity, well you get the idea...

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

Slavery to the state?

If anything, it will reign in those who think they can get away with paying little or no taxes.

Really? I saw nothing about closing loopholes. Only raising taxes. Also I highly doubt that 'everyone' who makes more than a million is a tax dodger.

Originally posted by buster2010
Mean old France for taxing the people who caused the financial crisis. The middle class and poor bail these scumbags out when they cry we are about to fail and now that they want to tax them in a attempt to get their money back it's slavery to the state.

***Really***? So everyone who makes more than a million a year is responsible for the financial collapse? I suppose I should tell my uncle, who worked his *** off to build his small business from the ground up (after putting himself through four years at MIT), that he's a criminal and should pay back a 'fair' share of his money to the rest of us.

I swear, I have yet to meet a socialist who can show me exactly how the money they want to 'redistribute' is really theirs or how all 'rich' actually stole it from them. It's that damn persistent 'Robin Hood complex', except in this case, 'Robin Hood' is the government - but he steals from both the rich and the poor, and somehow gets the poor to love him anyway.

No logic or rationale to these arguments; just emotion and sensationalism.

reply to post by FlyersFan


two things FlyersFan......

1st: your post reminded me of a great Thomas Sowell quote:

“I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.”

2nd: i think you're awesome and i was wondering if you'd like to go out some time?

p.s: your age is no problema.

reply to post by StarBoy

Taxing the rich is not the answer. It means less jobs, lower wages, and less production.

Actually that is quite a popular misconception.
It has been shown that reducing tax levels for the highest earners in society does not stimulate economic growth and only enables the wealthy to hoard even more money and reduce the amount governments have to reinvest back into society.

Originally posted by sasquatch5100
Here's the thing. Consumer spending is 70% of our economy so if consumers have more money to spend, which means the govt takes less than 70% of our economy benefits immediately. So explain to me how the rich having less money for their boats, houses, vacation homes, etc.. does us all better? Working class people make those things and work in those factories. When those factories have less orders the working class suffers.

Well for one thing tax revenue can (and I think must) be used for infrastructure improvements. We all know that the US is in a terrible shape in that regard. And guess what, building roads, tunnels and bridges can create an enormous number of jobs, and demand for machinery and all sorts of equipment. Then I quote you, "working class people make those things and work in those factories".

You can spend $2M on a yacht and that's just a yacht that someone will use for parties once in a while. You can spend $2M on road construction and it will buy a mile of high quality road to be used by tens of thousands of commuters every day, and will result in creation of many jobs.

reply to post by Submarines


I have come to realise that welfare leaches are just a drop in the ocean compared to banking scams and tax dodging. Have you actually read this thread and looked at any of the links posted?

You just want to pick on the little man! Bare in mind the fact that even though there are benefit leaches, there are also a good percentage of genuine jobseekers!

Have you noy been paying attention? The banks have been stealing billions! I guess you haven't been paying attention.

Most of you seem to mix up socialism as it is in Europe and how it used to be (and yes, I'm looking at you, dude who was talking about Hitler) also a bunch of posters seem to misunderstand what the 75% trully means.

It is NOT 75% of your total income that will be taken, it's 75% of everything above 1 million euros.
Yes, it's huge but with the actual economical crisis it's one of the way to get some money back (by a mean that has been used by the USA throughout history, look it up, as I said before, F. D. Roosevelt created a 90% tax on all income above 200.00 USD and he was not the only one, look it up, I shouldn't teach you your own history).

Secondly, socialism in Europe isn't what most of the americans think, the economic model is still liberalism, there won't be sovkhoz all around France and Mr Hollande will not suddenly turns into a tyrant with a mustache.

Just like the opposition between democrats and republicans, socialists and liberals in Europe are fighting over some points (mostly education, security, welfare and immigration... and that 75% tax) not over the whole shape of the countries, it's nothing but a label.

And for the morons saying that they's rather live on welfare than earn more than 1M euros a year and get taxed on everything above 1M (so in the end you'll earn "only" 970 000 euros per year), go try to live a decent life in England, France or Germany with less than 20 000 euros a year. You should be ashamed of yourself for spouting such stupidity.

Smoke and mirrors. Nothing else! Someone is going to board a swiss air flight bound for zurich and deposit all their money there tax free and questions free. International capitalism supercedes socialist policies in any nation.

And 75% tax rate is beyond insane. It is more MORONIC and hypocritical.

It should be up to the UN to stop tax evasion by banning trade with any nation that encourages or allows no questions asked secret banking principles. Put trade sanctions on them just like you put trade sanctions on iran and syria.

The UN could not give a rat's ass about tax evasion. The rich WANT nations to go bankrupt and that is why they allow such unscrupulous behavior. Then they will have their EXCUSE to go with digital banking of a one world currency and rfid chips implanted in anyone they feel like.

# the NWO!

reply to post by The Sword


Probably because its their money and not yours. You have no right to it , what so ever. Want more money? Get two jobs or find one that pays better.

If the population is willing to pay 200 dollars for a 50 dollar in cost product ... hey ... guess what. Profit.

The Rich should pay you to exist because you arent as fortunate , or smart , or motivated as them or their family past?

Originally posted by milkyway12
reply to post by The Sword

 

Probably because its their money and not yours. You have no right to it , what so ever. Want more money? Get two jobs or find one that pays better.

If the population is willing to pay 200 dollars for a 50 dollar in cost product ... hey ... guess what. Profit.

The Rich should pay you to exist because you arent as fortunate , or smart , or motivated as them or their family past?

edit on 5-7-2012 by milkyway12 because: (no reason given)

With attitudes such as yours it is EASY to see why people like hitler and stalin existed!

The rich people whe step on bodies to get ahead deserve no sympathy from me whatsoever and cany only reason with a gun attached to their forehead. People who refuse to act mature and reasonable belong in jail!

reply to post by EarthCitizen07


Ah , i see. So it is okay for the poor to step all over the rich because their poor and they think everyone with money is out to destroy their soul? You have the opportunity to be self-made in America. Take it or leave it. You have a choice. Live a simple life , moderate life , or rich life. Which one are you willing to work for or not work for.

Ah , you forget , for those of us who are generously blessed at the moment , which could change at any instant , also have side arms and rifles. You may win or you may not. Go ahead and try to stick a gun to my forehead.

Originally posted by KarmaComa
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

I would like to add that France has also approved a law that it is now illegal, in government owned companies (e.g. EDF, the national electricity producer), for the top dude to earn more than 20 times the lowest salary in the company.

That sounds like some really common sense legislation.

Shame we will never see anything like that in the good ol' USA.