Guest av1 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25541739 France's highest court has approved a 75% tax on high earners that is one of President Francois Hollande's signature policies.The initial proposal to tax individual incomes was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council almost exactly one year ago.But the government modified it to make employers liable for the 75% tax on salaries exceeding 1m euros (£830,000).The levy will last two years, affecting income earned this year and in 2014.Football clubs in France went on strike earlier this year over the issue, saying many of France's clubs are financially fragile and say the plans could spark an exodus of top players who are paid huge salaries.The Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain has more than 10 players whose pay exceeds 1m euros, including the Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.There has also been a chorus of protest from businesses and wealthy individuals who have condemned the tax - including film star Gerard Depardieu, who left the country in protest.Polls suggest a large majority in France back the temporary tax.Unlike many other countries in Europe, France aims to bring down its huge public deficit by raising taxes as well as some spending cuts.The highest tax rate in the UK is 45% and is applied to individuals. Edited December 29, 2013 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I am happy this is happening in a country that is not mine. We will get a real world look at how valid the Laffer curve idea is. Should be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 How will this kill French football exactly? Immoral amounts of money have hardly improved the game have they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 They'll find a way around this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosenthal Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Monaco will not be affected, while PSG will pay their superstars in other ways - I believe Zlatan is paid from Qatar. Rest of the teams though ... can see many players seeking a foreign transfer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Tax 'em all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Maybe 'the death of french football' was a bit OTT Rev and as you say the amount of money some players receive is immoral, but I could certainly see a exodus of top players from the league. And as mentioned above, it can't be healthy or moral if you will to have Monaco seemingly now in a even stronger position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 And just to be clear, I neither know enough about french football or business finance to really pass comment. I put a question mark after the title because it is a question rather than a statement. I'm sure more lernered posters will have a greater idea than me with regard to what/if any impact this will have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Monaco will not be affected, while PSG will pay their superstars in other ways - I believe Zlatan is paid from Qatar. Rest of the teams though ... can see many players seeking a foreign transfer. I don't think it matters where you are paid from. If Zlatan or anyone else is deemed as a French tax payer then he will be eligible. In his specific case I suspect they'll protect his net pay by giving him a rise but I don't think many others will be so lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avfc96 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I can certainly see alot of players leaving the French league and going to La Liga and the Premier League. Zlatan shouldn't be too hard to get should he? Come on Lerner, get your wallet out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 If it dies, can it take Nicolas Anelka with it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Pangloss Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Well it would be no loss to football it's a shite league with a couple of circus act clubs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 As I always point out to my colleagues in Paris, France is a non-football country that just happened to get lucky in the 90s. Better left to their rugby and petanque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Where does football sit in terms of popularity in French culture? I know Paris isn't really a football town, and tennis seems to be the most popular sport in the north of the country but I think football is still probably #1 overall, even if it isn't absolutely dominant like it is in England and Scotland and places like Italy and Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 France's national sport is cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 That explains why they were so pissed off after receiving another trouncing at the hands of Team GB at the Olympics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I see nothing "immoral" about player wages in France. Some players may earn ridiculously larges sums of money every week but the clubs are entitled to pay them what they like. I can certainly see some of their top players leaving though and I can understand why the French clubs went on strike over this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted December 31, 2013 Moderator Share Posted December 31, 2013 How will this kill French football exactly? Immoral amounts of money have hardly improved the game have they?It'll likely kill it on a European scale. I'm sure the French league will continue to exist perfectly fine and probably more idealistically (or in a more 'pure' state) than it is now. But they can kiss goodbye to the Zlatans of the world or of being as competitive as they are now. That's the context of the word 'kill' that I took. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Where does football sit in terms of popularity in French culture? I know Paris isn't really a football town, and tennis seems to be the most popular sport in the north of the country but I think football is still probably #1 overall, even if it isn't absolutely dominant like it is in England and Scotland and places like Italy and Brazil. In Marseille and the surronding area football is the dominant sport at least as much as it is in England. I don't think it's different in other areas. Up until PSG won the lottery the french league was fantastically open and competitive, but big money ruined that before this law got the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) Where does football sit in terms of popularity in French culture? I know Paris isn't really a football town, and tennis seems to be the most popular sport in the north of the country but I think football is still probably #1 overall, even if it isn't absolutely dominant like it is in England and Scotland and places like Italy and Brazil. In Marseille and the surronding area football is the dominant sport at least as much as it is in England. I don't think it's different in other areas. Up until PSG won the lottery the french league was fantastically open and competitive, but big money ruined that before this law got the chance. Last few years it's been open (5 different winners in 5 years, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille, Montpellier, PSG ), but didn't Lyon win like 7 Ligue 1 titles in a row? Up until 2008 Edited December 31, 2013 by AVFCforever1991 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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