france follows britain into tax on banker bonuses
News Posted On: 16 December 2009
French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has followed the example of the UK's Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling that is, (for those that don't know) with a one-off windfall tax on bank bonuses.
UK bankers have reacted furiously to the announcement, and it is a fairly safe bet that the passionate French will react no differently.
However, it is unlikely that French estate agents will react in the same way as their UK counterparts. British estate agents have said that the tax will ruin the recovery in London's prime market next year, which was relying on banker bonuses to keep the recovery going.
Thankfully the French (capital's) economy is not so based on its financial sector, and so nor is the property market. In fact -- and some may say in irony -- the French property market, well on the Riviera at least was more affected by the crash in London's financial sector, and that of Russia than it was by its own.
None the less, with France's economy in better shape than Britain, which is left writhing from the cost of fighting two major wars at the same time, we really must applaud Sarkozy for taking this bold step against banker bonuses.
Angela Merkel, his German counterpart has called the tax on bonuses "a charming idea" which some have viewed as highlighting the possibility of a similar move from her government, but which sounds to me like more of a sarcastic comment, because of the gaping holes the tax leaves for workarounds.
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