The socialist government of French President François Hollande has come up with an idea to lure high earners and businesses back to France: cut taxes.
You mean business and individuals might consider migrating or returning to regions that lower their taxes? Who knew!?
And the reason for Hollande’s change of heart? Brexit.
The English paper The Independent quoted Hélène Charveriat, the delegate-general of the Union of French Citizens Abroad, who explained why people and businesses have been leaving France: “Young people feel stuck, and they want interesting jobs. Businessmen say the labour code is complex and they’re taxed even before they start working.”
Wait, are we talking about France or the U.S.?
Last November, I quoted a New York Times writer living in France who told a talk show host: “I can tell you a lot of people are leaving France. … Half of my American friends have left France. French people are leaving France. Other Europeans are leaving France. And French Jews are leaving France, and it has nothing to do with anti-semitism or terrorism. It has to do with new tax laws that put such a high tax burden on anyone in France that a lot of smart people are saying I’m going to live elsewhere.”
After pushing to raise taxes when he took office, now Hollande says he wants to cut them by €2 billion.
In addition, MercoPress writes, “Socialist President Francois Hollande said last week tax regulations needed to be adapted to make Paris more attractive.
OK, now I know we’re talking about France and not the U.S. Obama would never say that.
France sees Great Britain’s leaving the European Union as an opportunity to make Paris the financial center of Europe if it can lure companies away from London. Germany is warning other EU members about a tax-cut race to the bottom. Europe should be so lucky.
So if the socialists in France understand that tax cuts and reduced regulations attract businesses and people, they apparently aren’t stupid, just evil for keeping taxes as high as they could for as long as they could.
The White House, on the other hand, keeps pushing for higher taxes and more regulations on business and individuals.
Leaving us with only one conclusion: Washington is both stupid AND evil.