Luxury tax becomes a hot topic for Macron

Following a couple of weeks of public uproar after the French government said it was going to scrap a wealth tax that applies to personal assets of more than $1.5 million, Emmanuel Macron’s administration will propose a tax on luxury yachts, supercars and precious metals in France’s 2018 budget. 

Macron, a former Rothschild banker, has been trying to shake off the label of “president of the rich,” but the September proposal of replacing the tax on high-end assets such as jewellery with just a real estate tax didn’t help his cause.

The wealth tax, introduced by the Socialists in the 1980s, was levied on individuals with assets above €1.3 million.

Even though Macron’s cabinet says the levy has driven 10,000 people with about $41 billion in capital abroad in the past 15 years, the wealth tax has been understood by many as a symbol of social justice since it was introduced in the 1980s.

The whole situation around the levy not only took a toll on the President’s popularity, but it is also expected to be a hot topic in the media this Tuesday, during a planned nationwide strike by public workers.

The 2018 budget bill is due to be studied by parliament's finance commission this week.