French Tax Hell

City Journal ^ | 15 January 3013 | Theodore Dalrymple

[BfloGuy]

The press has focused most of its attention on Hollande’s desire to raise the income tax—as justified by the Orwellian term “contribution exceptionelle de solidarité,” as if the feeling of solidarity were something that tax inspectors could wring from the human heart. But France already endures a much more harmful tax: the ISF, or L’Impôt sur la fortune, a tax on capital assets irrespective of whether they bring the owner any income. It is this tax that induced the French actor, Gérard Depardieu, to announce initially that he was moving to Belgium (before becoming a Russian citizen). In fact, income taxes have always been higher in Belgium than in France; but Belgium has no ISF.

Hollande’s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, imposed a “bouclier fiscal,” a fiscal shield, according to which no one would have to pay more than 50 percent of his income in taxes, however great his assets. But now the shield is no more, and so it will be theoretically possible, even likely, for many people to pay more in taxes than they receive in income. The ISF tax thus amounts to outright confiscation; whether the Constitutional Council will allow it to stand remains to be seen, but the government has sent a clear message that it regards possession of capital as inherently selfish, antisocial, and in need of moral rectification. This does not mean, of course, that individual members of the government have any interest in lowering themselves to the average or even median standard of living.

[BfloGuy]

So far, no American liberal has proposed a tax on wealth.

Oh, for some reason, they're happy to suggest taxes on those morons who earn a lot through their own hard work, but, those who just happen to "be fortunate" don't get demonized. The Kennedys come to mind, don't they?

And Warren Buffett, too, come to think of it.

[skinkinthegrass]

.

[Pearls Before Swine]

So far, no American liberal has proposed a tax on wealth.

Don't think it hasn't been thought of. But, instead of a direct tax, we have indirect ones. There's real estate taxes, auto and other property excise taxes, the estate tax, confusing restrictions and penalties on IRA accounts, etc. They serve the same purpose.