FRANCE'S RICH HAVE FORMALLY REQUESTED A TAX INCREASE

While the members of the US Congress continue their gridlock for not helping fix the nation´s economy, some European countries "get it" and are today moving forward.

...French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who announced that the wealthy French will be paying higher taxes.

Everyone has heard the many jokes about how the French are so immoral, soft and totally undisciplined. And we all can still recall, when the French were strongly and rightly against Bush going into Iraq, "French Fries" were then nationally scorned in the US, and for weeks they were called, "American Fries".

Well, just as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, the American business man Warren Buffet, recently suggested, "an ´exceptional tax levy´ on the nation´s wealthy to help America manage its debt burden", sixteen of France's wealthiest individuals have now mimicked Warren Buffett's call for a special tax on the wealthy in France to help manage its own national debt burden.

How this came about, was that after rumors had circulated that France could lose its treasured AAA credit rating, an open letter was written by a number of French millionaires and billionaires asking for a tax increase, directly on them, for helping with the nation´s debt problems. In the letter, these wealthy French individuals stated, "We, the presidents and leaders of industry, businessmen and women, bankers and wealthy citizens would like the richest [French] citizens to have to pay a 'special contribution'."

The French government has now introduced a new debt reduction package that includes a 3% income tax increase on people making more than $720,000 a year. And no one in France is screaming about "class warfare", as they are doing here in the US.

The open letter goes on to say, "When the public finances deficit and the prospects of a worsening state debt threaten the future of France and Europe and when the government is asking everybody for solidarity, it seems necessary for us [the wealthy] to contribute." What they are saying is that they realize that there's not much quality of life in being rich, while you are having to live in a poor country. Unfortunately, this is a sentiment that most billionaires and corporatists here in America don't appear to have, or even want to understand.

The announcement and publishing of the letter was made on the website of the magazine Le Nouvel Observateur. And it surfaced just ahead of the planned announcement by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the new austerity measures meant to keep the French budget deficits under control.

According to Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a public call for such a levy may only be intended to paint a more positive picture of "les riches", the French millionaires and billionaires. In particular, of the L'Oréal cosmetic heiress, Liliane Bettencourt, who has recently come under fire for attempting to evade French tax collectors.

Here's WSJ´s English translation version of the letter´s public appeal: "We, chairmen of companies and business leaders, business men and women, finance professionals or wealthy citizens, call for an exceptional levy that would target France's richest taxpayers."

You will notice it is slightly different from the above British version of the translation, as it does not include the stated desire of the wealthy French to pay a "special contribution". Could this "difference" just be another example of Rupert Murdoch´s negative influence over his media empire, including the WSJ, for not telling the "whole truth" when reporting the news? I wonder…?

It has also been noted, that this exceptional French tax will be calculated in a reasonable way and designed so as to avoid undesirable effects, such as capital outflows and an increase in the inability for evading taxes.

The letter also went on to say: "This tax is not a solution in itself: it must be part of a wider reform of the tax system, encompassing spending as well as tax receipts. At a time when rising public debt and deficits are threatening France's and Europe's future, and when the government is asking everyone to show solidarity, we feel we must all contribute."

The American conservatives, right-wing Republicans, Tea Party members and Governor Rick Perry, that may have accidently read this article or the WSJ article, are probably retching over their toilets right now.

It´s a sad day when the attitude of those in European countries are more intelligent and more capable of understanding the need for political solidarity in order to fix current economic issues.

I guess it is very true – that not all millionaires and billionaires are created equal.

Copyright G.Ater 2011

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