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Wealth tax would be deadly for French economy, says Europe’s richest man (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36272492

Europe’s richest man, the luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault, has said that a wealth tax that could cost him more than €1bn (£817m) would be deadly for France’s economy.

The French founder of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said in a statement to the Sunday Times that calls for a 2% wealth tax on all assets “aims to destroy the liberal economy, the only one that works for the good of all”.

The idea of a wealth tax has steadily gained ground in France because of a political crisis, with the government trying to push through unpopular budget cuts. The idea of a 2% wealth tax on fortunes worth more than €100m has been proposed by Gabriel Zucman, an economics professor who has become a household name in France.

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[–] -4 points 1 year ago (10 children)

France tried this is the late 80s, 10-12,000 millionaires left and it lost money overall so they scrapped it. A wealth tax doesn't work in Europe where it's so easy to leave.

But my understanding is France is already pretty tax heavy, so I don't know of a better tax revenue solution.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    There's been plenty of historical examples where taxing the wealthy has worked. Assets can't easily move countries, nations can enforce taxes regardless of a wealthy person's residence, etc etc etc. Even if this tax is hard to design and implement, it's the right thing to do and it's necessary for our future.

    Stop doing the work of the billionaires for free. Properly designed wealth taxes will work in Europe, we're smart enough to figure it out - and again - it's necessary.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    "There's been plenty of historical examples where taxing the wealthy has worked". And yet they literally tried it IN FRANCE and it didn't work, France is literally the example used for capital flight.

    What a lazy rebuttle, "you're doing the work of billionaires", lazy and without substance. But if you require a pledge of allegiance to the lower classes before I can talk tax: Idgaf if France decides to wealth tax every dime until billionaires earn $20 an hour. There you go.

    Wealth taxes are extremely hard to implement. You're hand waving off-shore holdings like, "nations can enforce tax". Tell that to Ireland. Not to mention the costs involved with determining "wealth".

    A wealth tax sounds lovely and appeals to voters, but it historically just doesn't fly. A VAT on luxury goods is way easier, cheaper, less risky, and achieves a lot of the same goals. It's just a lot harder to sell to mugs like you.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Removing step up basis on assets, taxes inheritance over a limit, increasing capital gains taxes, taxing corporate buy backs, are all great wealth taxes. VAT is a horrible wealth tax, that’s not the level of wealth we want to target. We don’t want to target consumption, we want the money back in circulation. I don’t think anyone here appreciates your explanation or your intelligence as much as you do.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Ah, you're one of the morons who thinks a billionaire has a bank account filled with $1,000,000,000, just sitting idly, waiting to be added back into the economy by the government.

    Good luck France, here's hoping you're the ONE country who can successfully institute a wealth tax.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Just implement capital flight tax. Norway has done it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    After the rate hikes in 2022, capital flight exceeded the additional revenue raised by the higher rates. And Norway had incentivised local governments to have a stake in the wealth tax which aided in the responsibility of the tax, something I haven't read France propose.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago*

    After the rate hikes in 2022, capital flight exceeded the additional revenue raised by the higher rates.

    The wealthy fled before the tax on capital flight was implemented.

    And Norway had incentivised local governments to have a stake in the wealth tax which aided in the responsibility of the tax, something I haven't read France propose.

    Because France is run by politicians who pretend that there is no solution to combat the threat of capital flight, because they are in rich people's pockets.

    Even Warren Buffet advocate increasing tax on the wealthy. He stated that higher taxes did not actually stop them from investing or leaving the country with their wealth, when the US used to tax higher rate on the higher marginal wealth bracket. Only relatively few wealthy people do leave the country.

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