Some of the richest people in France recently asked to pay more tax as President Sarkozy said he wanted to cut the French public deficit.
L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, the head of Air France and the boss of oil giant Total are among those who have signed a petition calling for a 'special contribution' from the wealthy saying 'When the public finance deficit and the prospects of a worsening state debt threaten the future of France, it seems necessary for us to contribute.
Compare that approach with the whinging coming from the top 1% of UK earners who are stamping their tiny feet at the 50% tax rate they are forced to pay on earnings over £150,000. Twenty of them have written a stern letter to the media highlighting the injustice of very wealthy people paying more tax than not very wealthy people and insisting that the 50p tax rate is unpopular amongst people who pay the 50p tax rate.
Conservative minister, Eric Pickles, was quick to support the super rich stating that: 'I think there is a strong and reasonable case to say, 'Come on, this is not actually contributing very much'. Not sure what World Eric Pickles lives in if he considers £2.7bn a year not very much but the chancellor of the exchequer has agreed that the top rate will stay for now, mainly because he would face a backlash if he is seen giving money to the rich while the rest of us continue to get shafted at every turn.
I expect we will hear the usual bleating about the most well off wanting to leave the country because of the amount of tqax they pay so if someone wants to pass a hat around to charter a few dozen planes to escort them off our green and pleasant lands, i would be happy to contribute a few quid. As long as it's tax deductible that is, the belt seems to have become a bit tight lately for some reason.
4 comments:
The truth is that the ultra-rich, because of tax avoidance schemes, pay little or no tax and that applies to most countries. That's why they get so rich!
They should be forced to pay a very, very high tax rate in the country where they live and be allowed no loopholes.
This money could then be reallocated to those who need it, the very ones that the rich ripped off to become rich!
The Tax system is so complex, it should be, as you suggest, a flat rate with no expenses or relief so those with fancy agents can bypass it. It should be personal allowance and then a percentage of your earnings, raising the more you earn.
I'm surprised you support the flat-tax, Lucy, as that's what the right-wing has been campaigning for, for a great many years. For income tax I support a progressive system, but not one that's pegged so high that it acts as a disincentive to investment and activity.
It's the only way i can see the top earners fiddling it so they don't pay so much tax. If you just had a simple system with steps where you say that if earn this much, you pay this much. No expenses or relief that extends the personal alowance, just pay a percentage of what you earn.
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