French footballers to go on strike over `super` tax
Last Updated: Friday, November 01, 2013, 12:10
The Socialist leader told soccer club owners on Thursday he has no intention of repealing or exempting them from a 75-percent tax on salaries exceeding 1 million euros per year, despite the threat of a match blackout later this month.
"The need to clean up public finances fully justifies this effort demanded of businesses that choose to pay such high annual salaries," Hollande said in a statement after meeting club executives.
Hollande`s determination to stick to the two-year supertax contrasted with his government`s backpedalling on other fiscal fronts, like a proposed tax on trucks that was suspended this week following protests by farmers and truckers in Brittany.
The proposed "eco-tax" meant to raise up to 1 billion euros a year for rail projects will be suspended until the government has fine-tuned its application, Budget Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told BFMTV.
Pressure on France from European partners to reduce its public deficit have led to tax rises in the 2014 budget and fuelled rising discontent, with a poll showing Hollande with the lowest approval rating of any president on record.
The Socialist government has also backed down on a proposed tax on savings, reinstated a tax break on education costs and dropped a planned new tax on business turnover, each after protests by interest groups.
But the 75 percent tax on top earners, a flagship pledge in Hollande`s 2012 election campaign, is much more popular than other levies. A survey by pollster OpinionWay this month showed that 85 percent of voters said they did not think football clubs should be exempted.
Fourteen of the 20 Ligue 1 clubs will be affected by the tax, with Qatar-funded Paris St Germain the hardest hit, while Monaco, backed by a Russian billionaire, will be exempt as they do not fall under French tax laws.
Paris St Germain, who have spent more than 200 million euros on transfers since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, are expected to pay some 20 million euros - just under half of the total the clubs would pay annually. Reuters ------------------ ZEENEWS.com
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