Please tax us, French super-rich tell government

Reuters ^ | August 23, 2011 | by John Irish

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Some of France's richest people, including the billionaire heiress of L'Oreal and the head of oil giant Total, urged the government on Tuesday to tax them more to help to solve the country's financial problems.

In a petition published on the website of weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, 16 company executives, business leaders and super-rich individuals called for the creation of "a special contribution" that would target wealth without hurting capital flows.

[all the best]

The best way to help a drug addict headed for total collapse is to give him even more drugs. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

[Batrachian]

These people, and those like Warren Buffett, are full of it. They know that no matter what taxing scheme the government comes up with, they'll beat it with deductions and loopholes of every description. Their accountants and tax lawyers are much smarter than the government. This is just PR. You notice they're not actually sending any more money to the government, although they could easily afford to.

[Ulysse]

This pure demagogical bullshit for socialist oligarchs !

Yes super-rich can afford and they don’t care. And the most of their wealth is well hidden in different locations.

Those who will actually pay are the bigger group of the Middle Class, who will be owned. Those who actually create jobs IN the country will be taxed and unemployment will remain high....

Warren Buffet is a tool and a buffon....like Obamao the puppet

[Free America52]

After the newly collected taxes pay for 2 1/2 days of running the government, maybe they will then understand the problem is spending too much, and not a revenue problem.

[almost done by half]

When the heck are tax authorities going to pass a law that says if anyone makes a public statement like this they get their (personal)wish?.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Absolutely. Rich Socialists should pay ALL of their income to the government. Problem solved.

[silverleaf]

for these people, wealth and income are two different things

Limit them to 2 houses and hear the squeals

[HiTech RedNeck]

Doesn’t France provide a way that people can donate to the French treasury?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

They’ve climbed the ladder of success, now they want to pull up the ladder and keep everyone else out. Like Warren Buffet.

[556x45]

I cant figure out this idea that the rich want to be taxed more. Are they so dull as to not be able to figure out how to use their monies charitably? Do they believe the govt has better insight into how to use it? Why arent they just giving more to the country’s treasury? So many questions. I wonder how they became wealthy in the first place with this sort of ‘thinking’?

[Buckeye McFrog]

Are they so dull as to not be able to figure out how to use their monies charitably?

That is a typically French attitude, that the elite political class and their technocracy is far more capable of making the proper decisions on such matters than the hicks in the sticks.