Mr. Macron’s plans have sailed through a Parliament with a big presidential majority, against a fragmented right and left. Meanwhile, in France the wealth tax has accounted for less than 2 percent of the government’s total tax revenues. Capital gains will now be taxed at a flat 30 percent under Mr. Macron’s plan, nearly half the previous maximum rate. is purely a symbol,” said the ex-Harvard economist Philippe Aghion, now at the Collège de France, and one of Mr. Macron’s principal economic advisers. “Isn’t this just a gift to the rich?” Mr. Macron was asked during the lengthy television interview, in language that echoed the attacks in parliament.

Source: New York Times November 02, 2017 03:45 UTC