French Minister for the Economy Christine Lagarde has firmly ruled out a proposal
to abolish France’s highly controversial tax shield or “bouclier
fiscal” in order to reduce public debt.
Abolition of France’s “most unjust” tax shield was just one
of several proposals put forward recently by François Chérèque, leader of France's largest trade union confederation, the CFDT, as a means to
reduce the current deficit.
Other ideas advocated by Chérèque include creating an additional
tax bracket for top earners, abolishing measures granting cuts in contributions,
and introducing a tax on overtime hours.
Despite rejecting the idea of abolishing the tax shield, Minister for the Economy
Lagarde did confirm that Chérèque’s ideas pertaining to
the use of a future government loan – an investment loan recently promised
by French President Nicolas Sarkozy – were “interesting”.
According to CFDT leader Chérèque, the government’s investment
loan should be used to address two key issues: sustainable development and an
aging population. Other key areas for investment, outlined by Chérèque,
include environmentally-friendly industries, renewable energy, transport, health
and equipment.
For the French Minister, however, the government’s first priority lies
in identifying target sectors in which to invest. Subsequently, areas requiring
financial support must then be identified before finally determining the means
of financing the loan, the Minister added.
France’s controversial tax shield limits direct taxes in France (income
tax, wealth tax, and local taxes such as dwelling and real estate tax) to 50%
of income, including social contributions, honouring a pre-election pledge made
by President Sarkozy, that no-one will pay the tax authorities any more than
half of what they earn.
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