What happens when you tax the rich too much...

[BermudaSooner]

They leave. French actor Gerard Depardieu is being called "unpatriotic" by French leaders because he is moving to Belgium. Why? Proposed 75% tax rates, wealth taxes, capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes, taxes on selling you business.

Depardieu said he paid 85% of his income in taxes last year, and that he's paid 145 million Euros in taxes over his career..that's a lot of taxes for a pretty ugly dude making his money on being a leading man.

France's Prime Minister called this move "pathetic really." He continued: "Paying taxes is an act of patriotism and we're asking the rich to make a special effort here for the country."

He isn't the only one leaving...the founder of LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) is applying for citizenship in Belgium as well.

Not only that, it is near impossibly to hire a good CEO to work in France now--what's the point--you don't get to keep any of your CEO salary.

Any of this sounding familiar. Yea, yea, 39.6% is a long way from 75%....but there doesn't seem to be any quit in this Democratic party. I'm sure 4 years from now I will again be accused of not paying my fair share.

If only we had a place with good beers and non-ridiculous taxes nearby....

[soonercruiser]

Here's what's really UNPATRIOTIC!!!!


1kuTG19Cu_Q

[BermudaSooner]

Here's what's really UNPATRIOTIC!!!!


1kuTG19Cu_Q

RACIST!!!!!

[StoopTroup]

I would have thought a few of you would be on a plane to Belgium.

[yermom]

theirs still goes up to 50%+ from what i can tell

[badger]

Didn't France's 75 percent tax not get accepted by their courts, so it's a moot point anyway? And didn't that actor also get offered Russian citizenship since you can't declare yourself not-French without having a new nationality lined up afterward?

In any event, Most countries still have higher tax rates than the U.S. They can move here if they want :D

[SanJoaquinSooner]

My parents' big income years were back in the Jimmy Carter days, with their marginal tax rate at 50%. So tax shelters were the way to go back then. They invested in oil wells, but you know what shysters those oil people are, so naturally my parents lost a lot of money.

[StoopTroup]

I'm hoping Piers Morgan is moving.

[okie52]

My parents' big income years were back in the Jimmy Carter days, with their marginal tax rate at 50%. So tax shelters were the way to go back then. They invested in oil wells, but you know what shysters those oil people are, so naturally my parents lost a lot of money.

I feel a little guilty now juan. If they had hit oil the whole family might be legal.

[StoopTroup]

We hit NG back in the day and at least got a ROI. The smartest thing we did was sell instead of pump more money into those wells as they later had to go even deeper and it ended up costing more than it was worth.

[Midtowner]

Any of this sounding familiar. Yea, yea, 39.6% is a long way from 75%....but there doesn't seem to be any quit in this Democratic party. I'm sure 4 years from now I will again be accused of not paying my fair share.

That is why this isn't applicable.

I believe this tax rate was abolished by the courts, so it's kind of a moot point.

That said, has Air France gone belly up because they couldn't find someone to work for less than eleventytrillion euros?

[StoopTroup]

I'm really missing Gerard.

[cleller]

So Obama thought $30k for every man woman and child was unpatriotic?

Wonder how he feels about $52k now?

[soonercruiser]

I feel a little guilty now juan. If they had hit oil the whole family might be legal.

Can't "pick" oil????
:cower:

[KantoSooner]

Singapore and Australia are both vying to attract wealthy and/or highly employable new citizens. How? They do it through stable and relatively low tax rates, competent and non-corrupt public servants (both rank significantly higher on 'transparency' scores than we do) and with balanced budgets (until the laborites got into Aussie, at any rate) and sustainable public services.
The model's out there, folks, and can be followed without great social dislocation or submission to a dictatorial government (well, not in Aussie, at least). We simply need to take on board that most of what we've done for the past 80 years has been wrong headed and revamp it.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

That is why this isn't applicable.

I believe this tax rate was abolished by the courts, so it's kind of a moot point.

That said, has Air France gone belly up because they couldn't find someone to work for less than eleventytrillion euros?


The courts found it was unlawful. The French gov't will amend the law and pass a work around to be legal. It will once again be up to 75%.

[SoonerorLater]

Atlas Shrugged.

[Midtowner]

Atlas Shrugged.

Where's Galt's Gulch?

--is everyone moving to the Horn of Africa?

[Midtowner]

The courts found it was unlawful. The French gov't will amend the law and pass a work around to be legal. It will once again be up to 75%.

They'll try next year, but such a rate is not really meaningful over there where it'll only affect a few thousand households. Europe is different though. The only similar lifestyle American expats can enjoy would be in Canada where taxes are a lot higher than anything here.

[BermudaSooner]

Where's Galt's Gulch?

--is everyone moving to the Horn of Africa?

I'm sure as hell not telling you!

[KantoSooner]

They'll try next year, but such a rate is not really meaningful over there where it'll only affect a few thousand households. Europe is different though. The only similar lifestyle American expats can enjoy would be in Canada where taxes are a lot higher than anything here.

C'mon, Mid, you are bidden to do better than this, the old 'gun to the head' argument. It's not compelling to tell people that they must pay more because they can't go elsewhere. There are a long list of countries that are relatively stable, offer decent standards of living and health care (so long as you have bucks) and welcome American immigrants. Yes, a lot of them are island states that lack the breadth and depth of this country. But, once you get used to treating the ocean as a playground and not a barrier, life is pretty good.

If we're going to justify high rates of spending, and thus of taxation, we're going to have to justify them with something better than, "You have no escape, nanny nanny boo boo."

That is one reason why I strongly urge a starting point that posits a reverse approach. How much should government cost? Once we decide on that, then we figure out how to raise it, and from whom...and what the implications are in terms of spending. Maybe we can't afford subsidized college education and F-35 air dominance fighters. We know we can't afford what we're doing now. And we also know that, if we try to punish those who've done well, they, of all of us, really DO have options.

[StoopTroup]

The courts found it was unlawful. The French gov't will amend the law and pass a work around to be legal. It will once again be up to 75%.

Just a thought here....

They get a lot of perks we don't for their 75%. I know many of you feel like it's because they are a buncha gall darn commies but I think that France is just a hell of a lot different than the US in Land Mass and Life Style. It's a really a crazy place and even though I'll always agree that we seem to have always been involved in cleaning up a bunch of their messes....their people also did help us when we needed them against the Brits. They have always been a bit different. It's not like it's something new.