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PARIS (AP) - France's lower house of parliament has passed a budget amendment to raise a slew of new taxes on businesses and the wealthy while barely cutting spending.
The National Assembly approved the bill and sent it to the Senate for its own vote later Tuesday.
The law revises the 2012 budget after economic growth fell short of projections, and sets the tone for President Francois Hollande's Socialist administration. It rolls back several measures the previous, conservative government passed to shake up a hidebound labor market. It eliminates a tax break on overtime pay, for example.
The government has promised the 2013 budget will include spending cuts, but economists worry the new leaders don't understand how urgently France needs to reduce costs. Ballooning debt has forced other European countries to seek bailouts.
July 31, 2012 @ 1:41 pm
Tell me. When did the French ever do anything right? I am 1/4 French but I sure dont brag about it!
July 31, 2012 @ 1:44 pm
Nothing like the ‘friendly socialist dictator’ placing a bigger tax burden on businesses so they in effect cannot ‘hire’ workers. AND probably will cause more businesses to go out of business.
Really want to see what America will look like if we don’t get rid of Ozero. France, Spain, Greece are prime examples.
July 31, 2012 @ 2:23 pm
This is the reason TARGET has opened it’s stores here in America ,,,,,,,,
July 31, 2012 @ 2:59 pm
Well, that should help out the other countries in Europe as the French businesses move out and startup elsewhere!
August 1, 2012 @ 1:56 am
Misleading headline by AP. Hasn’t ‘passed’ – yet.
That said, I agree with the sentiments of others here.
Meanwhile, yeah, as said (allegedly) by one of their ancestors, Marie Antionette (wife and queen of Louis XVI), when the populace had no bread, “Let them eat cake.”
When BO is through with us, Michelle will probably weigh in with something similar, albeit ‘sugar free’ of course.