Okay, so I knew about the stupid French governmental regulations capping work hours, bloating vacation and keeping an unsustainably low retirement age. I did not, however, have a clue at how anti-business and anti-employment France’s tax policy was.
Jacques Chirac, France’s president, has announced plans for tax reforms in an attempt to discourage companies from dismissing French workers or moving production overseas.
In his televised New Year’s Eve address, Mr Chirac called on his government to meet the challenge of globalisation by changing the way it raises funds for social welfare – including unemployment benefits, family assistance, pensions and healthcare.
The tax plan was the most significant new idea in Mr Chirac’s address, as he adopted a more friendly tone towards global capitalism than in previous speeches, calling on French people to “make globalisation an asset for our growth and our jobs”.
Instead of taxing companies based on the number of employees, which experts say encourages them to dismiss workers and discourages them from hiring staff, the government is expected to examine alternative ways to raise funds for social welfare.
“Today the more jobs a company cuts, the more production it moves overseas, the less social charges it pays. Our system of corporate charges must favour companies that employ people in France,” said Mr Chirac.
Please remember that the U.S. unemployment figure, even at the time well under six per cent, was considered an issue in the 2004 presidential campaign. Here we have a state, already wrestling with double-digit unemployment figures, that essentially punishes its economic contributors based upon how many people they employ. That is beyond sad, and it is far more screwed up than I would have given the French credit for managing.
Ace points us towards an article [another version here, as Yahoo!News expires their stories] stating that Chirac is struggling to remain relevant in today’s Franco politics. Should he manage a restructuring of such an abortion of common sense tax policy in his twilight days, I might just have to give him a hearty bravo. Unfortunately, I don’t think the weasel will manage anything of any significance that I would consider progress. After all, for years his legacy has looked to be cemented — Jacques Chirac, a worthless man who whiled away his country, opportunistically trading opposition to America for short-term French gain but at the expense of true principle.