STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 31 December 2014

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14. FRANCE DROPS ITS SUPER TAX ON MILLIONAIRES

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_TAXING_MILLIONAIRES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-12-31-02-29-16

PARIS (AP) -- It was supposed to force millionaires to pay tax rates of up to 75 percent: "Cuba without the sun," as described by a critic from the banking industry. Socialist President Francois Hollande's super tax was rejected by a court, rewritten and ultimately netted just a sliver of its projected proceeds. It ends on Wednesday and will not be renewed.

And that critic of the tax? He's now Hollande's economy minister, trying mightily to undo the damage to France's image in international business circles.

The tax of 75 percent on income earned above one million euros ($1.22 million) was promoted in 2012 by the newly-elected Hollande as a symbol of a fairer policy for the middle class, a financial contribution of the wealthiest at a time of economic crisis.

But the government was never able to fully implement the measure. It was overturned by France's highest court and rewritten as a 50 percent tax paid by employers.