If you thought your taxes were high, you may want to think again. The newly elected Socialist Party in France is poised to institute a major tax hike on the nation's wealthiest. To help pay down the country's debt, French PresidentFrancois Hollande wants to raise taxes on citizens earning more than $1.23 million a year by increasing the income tax rate from 48 percent to 75 percent. The French Parliament will take up the issue in September. Hollande's tax hike on the rich was part of his presidential campaign platform. There are a number of experts - in France and the U.S. - who are skeptical that raising taxes on the wealthy will reduce the country's fiscal burden. "France is headed into a recession, if it is not in one already," says former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes in the accompanying interview. "Piling on new taxes when you have a contracting economy, that is lethal. That is poison." There is no question that a top tax rate of 75 percent is very high. But many countries in Europe already have a tax rate of 50 percent or more. Here at home, however, the top tax rate pales in comparison at 35 percent. And right now there is a fierce political battle over whether to increase the top tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent — a level not seen since the Clinton administration. It's important to note that the U.S. experienced economic prosperity during the Clinton administration -- even with high corporate and individual tax rates.... Continue to read.
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