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French luxury billionaire sparks tax debate with threat to leave
Yahoo! Finance ^ | Thu, January 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM CST | Katell PRIGENT

Posted on 02/01/2025 11:08:29 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum

Bernard Arnault, the billionaire boss of the world's biggest luxury conglomerate LVMH, has picked a fight with the French government by suggesting that companies could flee France for the United States to escape a planned tax hike.

As the government of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is struggling to fine-tune a budget designed to tackle the country's deficits and debt mountain, Arnault took issue with an expected key ingredient, a special tax on large companies.

"I have just returned from the US, and I have witnessed the wind of optimism in that country. Coming back to France is a bit like taking a cold shower," Arnault said at this week's LVMH earnings presentation.

Usually seen as close to President Emmanuel Macron with whom he regularly meets, Arnault was among a group of very rich men attending President Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington this month.

In stinging remarks, Arnault dismissed Bayrou's plan as "a tax made in France" and offered an unfavourable comparison between France and the United States.

In the US "taxes will fall to 15 percent", Arnault said.

"When you return to France and you see that they are planning to increase taxes on companies that produce in France -- to 40 percent -- it's incredible!

"If you actually wanted them to relocate, that would be the ideal way to do it," Arnault fumed, after his group reported a drop in 17 percent of its net profit for 2024 on a 2-percent slide in turnover.

- 'Nobody believes that' -

The special corporate tax is the brainchild of the previous government under premier Michel Barnier, who was sacked by parliament in a no-confidence vote in response to his austerity budget plan.

Bayrou's administration, which is scrambling to put together a new budget, is expected to retain the special corporate...

(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Humor
KEYWORDS: bernardarnault; emmanuelmacron; france; francoisbayrou; frankiebayou; littlenapoleon; lvmh; macaroni; macroni; michelbarnier
Thomas Sowell has noted that the true minimum wage is zero when it prices low-skilled workers out of the market.

A corollary is that the true tax rate is zero when your taxees rebel and exit your domain.

1 posted on 02/01/2025 11:08:29 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“...a special tax on large companies...”

Don’t relocate to California. They’ve been doing that for years.

wy69


2 posted on 02/01/2025 11:14:24 AM PST by whitney69
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

It similar to the stupid statement “tax the corporations rather than people”. Really, where does the corporate money come from to pay those higher taxes? It comes from customers who now face higher prices so the company can pay the higher taxes. Ultimately corporate taxes are paid by the customer.

Another dumb chant by the left and politicians: “The rich don’t pay their fair share!” Really? The top 10% of wage earner (the rich, income greater than $440,000/year) pay 72% of all taxes. The bottom 50% (less that $45,000/year) pay less than 3% of all taxes. You’re right, the rich don’t pay their fair share...they pay too much. After all, they are the ones who invest in the economy, create new jobs, and generate economic growth. Also, politicians wrote the tax code with loop holes so the rich would give them donation. Harris had 4 years to do something about taxes, but did nothing.


3 posted on 02/01/2025 11:21:05 AM PST by econjack
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To: econjack
Another dumb chant by the left and politicians: “The rich don’t pay their fair share!”

Plank #2 of the Communist Manifesto: A Heavy Progressive or Graduated Income Tax.

https://www.conservativeusa.net/10planksofcommunism.htm

4 posted on 02/01/2025 11:24:58 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: econjack

I believe your post is focusing on income taxes.

Leftists stick their boots on the necks of the poor with sin sales taxes (booze, tobacco).


5 posted on 02/01/2025 11:26:31 AM PST by cgbg (It is time to pull the Deep State out of the mass media--like ticks from a dog.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
The wealthy have the financial means to relocate to a more tax friendly location. It is folly to threaten them with special higher taxes only to watch them evaporate entirely from your tax base.
6 posted on 02/01/2025 11:39:22 AM PST by Myrddin
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Interesting video. A little bit hard to understand (I couldn’t use fast playback due to his thick accent) but good info. Many of the rich of Europe have already relocated to America and the investment by European corporation into our country is really quite amazing!

https://youtu.be/jE-E1lQunm0


7 posted on 02/01/2025 11:58:41 AM PST by Lake Living
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Uhhh...you are supposed to have your exit plans in place before you discuss it. France will likely slap a huge exit tax on any upstart billionaire who thinks his property actually belongs to him.
8 posted on 02/01/2025 12:01:56 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: cgbg

They do both. I was in Hungary several years ago and had a young college student for the bus tour. As we drove by the hospital, she said health care was free. I quietly said: “Subsidized”. Then we drove by a university a and she said it was free. And I said: “Subsidized:. She look at me and said “It’s free!”. And I asked her was her income was and she said she was a student so her income was low, about $13,000. I asked what her income tax rate was, and she said 40%. And I said you also have a national sale tax, right. She said yes and it was 22% but food and outdoor concerts (??) are only taxed at 18%. I said: “So about 62% of your income goes to taxes but you think health care and education are free?”

Crickets...


9 posted on 02/01/2025 12:03:59 PM PST by econjack
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

When that portion of a nation’s population finally wakes up to the fact that government is the least efficient user of scarce resources and the private sector the most, government entities immediately go into self-preservation mode (capital controls, higher taxes, etc.) which always increases the stampede for the exit. The thought of becoming more efficient and effective is a thought that never seems to occur to them.


10 posted on 02/01/2025 12:13:21 PM PST by Rlsau1
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I noted his Hispanic wife was not there at the inauguration


11 posted on 02/01/2025 12:27:21 PM PST by RummyChick
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