Taxes
4
YOU!
The Alarm is ringing, time to wake up.
Hollande and the French socialists have gone fiscal mad.
Taxes are coming thick and fast on individuals and businesses and France’s economy is being driven to a standstill.
For every joyous celebration (more teachers), there is a sly backhand (less nurses) to equal it out.
Trying to open a business is even harder and those that still believe in hard work are running out of the door quicker than a cabinet minister can move his money to Switzerland.
A good look at the Finance Bill shows a policy that will remove capital, the young and businesses out of France thereby lowering tax revenues, everything it is meant to prevent.
The number of French citizens applying to leave France is up by 600%.
Tax exiles (made famous by Depardieu) has increased by 500%
And the main reason given?
The state and the wish to not be penalized so heavy for making money for France.
Banks
French Banks still have work to do. They have made a valid effort to cut their debt holdings in Europe and have reduced them by nearly 35% since the start of the European financial crisis.
French bank holdings in Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain were reduced by $294 billion in the last 3 years but they still have $540 billion in these economies. Moody’s stated at the end of last year that France was “still exposed in peripheral European countries such as Italy in a disproportional manner”.
Last month saw the unveiling of the French banking reform with the outcome that very little changed. Widely acknowledged as a victory for the banks it was left to French finance minister Pierre Moscovici to state: “I did not want to weaken the French banking system. I want it to be strong,” Well you certainly did as the banks wanted, they have maintained their ability to keep the combined commercial and investment banking in house. In fact, as a statement of intent to President Francois Hollande’s campaign pledge to get tough with the financial sector it is also laughable.
What next? Realistically nothing. France has stagnant growth, a leverage of over 40:1, credit rating problems, and is perceived to be doing nothing apart from plastering over the cracks.
Welfare or Property
France is a welfare country, a welfare state as they say.
Its whole society is based on welfare and now it is breaking its uneasy alliance with free economy and free markets.
As of 2009, benefi ciaries and dependents received over €50 billion in payments and it touched over 50% of the population. 50%!
But welfare is good isn’t it?
Statistics in France show that the poverty rate has not decreased over the last 25 years even with the huge amounts handed out in welfare.
In fact, since 1990, the Active Solidarity
Income (the main payment to assist low
income families) has increased by 600% in just over 20 years.
Add to this the growth of organisations that help those facing poverty and the picture looks worse.
Restos du Coeur, an organisation supported by this magazine, was set up in the mid ‘80s to provide meals in winter to those in poverty.
It has seen a jump of over 1300% since its inception. (2011, 109 million meals). Is this the sign of a working system?
So what does this tell us? Dare we criticize?
Positives can come from negatives. The
truth can be a bitter pill but it can allow the buds of growth to take hold and the mindset to change. The welfare system in France does not work as it is but there is hope.
If France can make it attractive to work
instead of stay at home, can turn 2% of its state spending into the public sector, and make it clear where the assistance is to businesses and if Hollande and his
government stop for a moment and look at the country instead of their legacies, then France is in my opinion well placed to move onwards and upwards.
The only sticking point?
Others have been saying the same thing
for years.
Office Talk - The questions
* French Entrepeuneurs....the best in Europe? We think so.
* La Poste, can a bank really deny having your money?
* Does the Banque de France really adhere to EU laws?
-
The French banking system is one dimensional and corrupt?
Opinions, commentary and news with Michael D'Artag
A look at business and politics without the soft soap.
The HT Business Column
If I read the press correctly (as if) then times they are a changing on the political front.
Hollande’s socialists are unpopular and the other lot are embroiled in scandal after scandal and sneaking up the inside are the re-branded Front National.
But do not despair. Although the FN may be (as highlighted in this magazine) trying to look like decent and well rounded individuals their politics are not really any different to before. A smiling face and removal of the spittle throwing incestuous rhetoric may be gone but the public aren’t voting for them really, they are showing disdain for the other parties.
And that brings me to politics in general.
For a long time the politicians have done as before.... promise the world and then obtain power and just focus on keeping it thereby ignoring all the electioneering promises.
Hollande is out of his depth yes, but in truth what did you expect?
A country in recession, a global crisis and labour laws that would break any man or woman thrust into the spotlight. Sarkozy dipped his little (literally) toe into change and France voted him out tout suite and it wasn’t because of Carla whatever the gossips say.
The FN are still a grubby lot with a new found confidence by not talking loudly; but remember the last time they tasted power they had spent so much effort being hurt and misunderstood that their policies and ability to govern fell flat in the quagmire of hate that they so need to feed on. So local elections will appear to show a move to the right but it won’t last. By the time the second votes are counted and you use the intelligence this magazine presumes you have to look behind the headlines, I predict that the ground given will soon be taken away. Unless of course scandals and Hollande’s love life continue to grow and shock, allowing the FN to do what they do best with their re-branding...sneak up unseen.
And for those of the left, right and centre, when will you all learn that if you shout and demand silence of others all you do is look more like the ones you are trying silence.
Have an opinion? Dare to speak it out loud? I want to hear it. Mail me (via the publisher - the coward) at:
Shh, it's a secret.
They all watch us but they won't speak to us
You may have read about Verizon wireless, a telecoms company in the US and how they were ‘ordered’ to hand over phone and data records of their customers daily to the NSA. Well this got me to thinking about the connected world we live in and how we all complain but should we?
We use computers, phones and communicate around the world with no borders (China and a few others excluded).
This means that data and information is much more available for good and for bad. The positives are astounding; but the other side of the coin is that people do bad things and it is easier to commit an act that may be detrimenal to an individual, business or organisation. So what to do about this?
Do we give the governments of our respective countries the right to ‘spy’on data and information to ensure they keep us safe? Why not?
If you have nothing to hide then why worry? Or is this the invasion of privacy that we hear everyday on the news?
Google and Amazon watch where you visit online. France Telecom and mobile operators can keep your calls. Banks can see where you travel, what you spend,where you spend and then keep your money if they don’t like it.
Are we not creating a paranoid union where everywhere you go you are afraid to speak? Are we getting too frightened to live?
Is the protection of our freewill at the cost of free speech?
I conducted an interview with Microsoft 10 days ago for this magazine. It was interesting but I don’t believe it had any content that was going to have the bosses scratching their heads or calling lawyers but as I write this I have not had permission to publish. Two weeks and the next review date is the 27th June.
Surely just a little over the top don’t you think?
Articles
- Orange - Ex-pats hate them, and you are wrong to do so!
- Jean Claude Mas - A success story down to hard work, marketing and mixing French and overseas know how.
Got an opinion, something to say?
please email me here - Email Michael
The Polls
( It's not all bad, really.)
Brazil suffers
Hollande might do something....... but then again he might not!
France now has a state reach of 57% of GDP, the highest in Europe. Allied to crippling work
and labour regulations and high taxes, where does the change come from? Mr Hollande. Now is your moment.
"Reform France” many say, which he claims to be doing and even admitted that “state spending was excessive” but.... so far he has put in place a 75% top earners income tax; increased the tax that companies pay; reneged on a pension increase; and increased taxes in other areas including capital gains and dividends.
In reform terms the race has begun and France started strongly but has been overtaken by such questionable competitors as Italy and Spain! (Oh dear!)
Time stands still for no man or country and it may be time to test the resolve of France by reforming first and worrying about the voters later or it may be too late!
INSEE Has Problem
With First-Quarter
Employment
Figures
Only three days before the first-quarter employment statistics were released, INSEE,
the French national statistics agency announced there were problems with its survey, so the figures would not be able to be published.
The cryptic nature of the announcement alerted
suspicions that the government was up to no good. There are even suggestions that the report, even more depressing than many
had already anticipated, was being laundered. Who knows?
We will just have to sit back and wait for the figures.
Nervous? Not us.
Since the beginning of the European crisis confidence in the EU as dropped 32 points
in France, 49 in Germany, 52 in Italy, 98 in Spain, 44 in Poland and 36 in the UK. Everyone
concerned has lost confidence in the project : creditors/debtors, those in the Euro zone and
applicants. In 2007, the UK who reported a 13 point loss, were considered the exceptional euro
skeptics. It is remarkable to note that today the 4 largest country members have reported confidence levels lower than that of the UK: Germany (-29), France and Italy (-22) and Spain (-52).
Are African politics a direct line of sight to how France is really run?
Entrepreneurs - Going Strong
It is alleged that President George W. Bush said to then British Prime Minister Tony Blair that “The trouble with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur”.
Truth or not he was wrong.
Start ups in France are highly impressive; in numbers and in success.
The problem is two fold:
Investment and language.
In the US venture capitalists will give millions to a good start up, in France the figures average 250,000€.
Why?
The money men go to countries where English is the common language.
Mad eh?
But in science, medicine, gaming and online retail France is currently leading the way.
Montpellier and Toulouse and Perpignan are hotbeds of entrepeunerial startups.
Excellent news methinks!
Front National
It has become apparent that some of you are a little frightened of your shadow.
By writing about the Front National we highlighted that freedom of speech is important but more than that we have shown that they are everywhere.
Because they now talk politely and don't rant some of you think they have gone away. They want you to shout at them, then they can be extreme but by normalising them they have to declare their status and prospectus and you can vote against them.
And the worst of you are those that stand up and scream that your way is best and we should ignore them and they'll go away.
You sound more like them everyday and I won't vote for either of you
MD
BANKS
Banking in France is failing the customer whether business or personal.* The couple who lost their savings when a previous owner didn't clear a bill.* The bank that froze all accounts because the client may have known someone with a criminal record.Do you have a story to tell?If so, please email Michael and outline your experience for a future article
UPDATE
Now that this is set up it has a new owner.
Best of luck from The HAT
A new way of getting news and events in the Languedoc.
Here's a summary from Crème de Languedoc, the OLD owners.
The WOW! Hérault website, which was first started by Robin Hicks in 2008, has had a make-over. The new-look website with the first phase listing French news in English and a comprehensive list of events that are on in the region was launched today. The team have implemented many improvements to help users find exactly what they are looking for. ‘We want this to become a local community resource, allowing people that live in the region to share their news, events and experiences. By passing on their tips, we can enrich each others lives and help get the most out of living in this beautiful part of the world.’
Sign up for the daily newsletter here:
http://www.languedocliving.com/share.php
All of which makes us very happy....a new website for the region.... MD
Front National
It has become apparent that some of you are a little frightened of your shadow.
By writing about the Front National we highlighted that freedom of speech is important but more than that we have shown that they are everywhere.
Because they now talk politely and don't rant some of you think they have gone away. They want you to shout at them, then they can be extreme but by normalising them they have to declare their status and prospectus and you can vote against them.
And the worst of you are those that stand up and scream that your way is best and we should ignore them and they'll go away.
You sound more like them everyday and I won't vote for either of you
MD
I have been accused by some readers of being glib and acerbic in my reporting on France.
Damn right!
I love this country but I do not have to agree with everything in it just as I wouldn’t if I was in the US or the UK or Sweden etc.
France is a cowering school kid in its labour laws. Economists are in debate about ‘rigid’or ‘flexible’ labour laws but France has another problem, political stability.
Managements fear of change and risk aversion means that competitiveness is foresaken.The fear of strikes and the loss of productivity mean that French business is frozen in a spiralling circle that has no positive outcome.
The labour obviously distrust management and won’t tolerate change because they are trying to protect jobs and history and then you have a government that in order to keep stability and an outward sign of control just pump more money and subsidies into keeping both sides happy.
I admit, in the (very) short term this is feasible but it automatically compromises long term growth and viability. And so you are left with an outdated business model that achieves nothing but allows France to continue to paper over the cracks.
So what do the French do?
They run to nationalism.
Close the borders, our way is best, the others are bringing us down.
Bullshit.
This is a great country with the skills (just) still here .But France is a dodo. It is a flightless bird that thinks it has a future and the fearful management, the head in-the-sand unions and the weak wristed government will do to this magnificent country what hunters did to the dodo.
France is on the verge of becoming extinct.
So the next time you read or hear discussions on flexible labour (or rigid) being the salvation of the French economy laugh out loud and pray those that can make change will make change....and quickly.
I have had some feedback regardingbanking in France and it seems that as usual there is good and bad. The problem is that when it is bad it is downright awful.
La Poste. The entry level banking system for students and the young but also one of the most efficient banking organisations in France. That is unless you step outside their comfort zone.
Did you know for example that if you pay a cheque into your post office account and use a rural post office that
does not have a cheque scanner (a machine that scans the cheque as you pay it in) then La Poste do not accept that you have paid it in even with your paying in slip.
So what you ask?
But then do you know that La Poste do not transfer their cheques by secure courier but simply place all the cheques paid in into an envelope and send them normal mail.
And did you know that I have on file multiple cases where the post did not arrive and the credit does not show on the account.
So what happens according to La Poste.
Apparently, the paying in slip you use is worth nothing.
If you do not have cheque numbers and names and ideally copies of the cheque you need to wait 2 months and then you can complain. One person who wrote had nearly 1000€ worth of cheques just never exist.
Upon contacting the recommended person he claims it is not right and you should be recompensed for any charges. The example given still has not received the credit from March this year and has received charges of over 100€ due to La Poste not being able to do their job and worse, to suddenly claim that their own systems are not there in any way to protect the customer and are at best inefficient and at worst negligent.
A spokesperson for La Poste asked me not to write this and meet in 2 weeks. In the meantime readers are being deprived of their money that the bank has admitted to losing and will do nothing to assist.
This is just the beginning
I will be wrinting individual cases up until La Poste do something.
The bank that denies accountability when you use their systems.
I know you all keep up to date and have read and digested the
news that BNP Paribas were fined 8.83billion dollars to settle allegations that it broke US sanctions.
But hold on a minute. In a short period of time 6 banks have been
fined for a range of indiscretions and those in the know claim another 5 will be following shortly and by the time you read this I do
believe you’ll be reading about a certain Portuguese bank having
problems and that will add onto the Croatian run that sent a minor
earthquake around the markets.
So what has really changed since the media attacked the banks
(somewhat justifiably) for the economic crash?
Nothing.
BNP Paribas allegedly (nearly $9 billion dollars they agreed to pay
for allegedly?) engaged in a “long term multi-jurisdictional conspiracy”.
Yeah. We know.
But if they paid this money on an allegation(?) that they then
admitted then what the hell else are they hiding.
The French banking system is flawed. It is arrogant, self-centered
and failing on so many levels it is an embarrassment to this great
country. I will be writing more when the banks lawyers stop redacting answers and questions.
Is there a bank left that has a moral and responsible backbone.
I'm going to find out.
Next issue.
BERNARD T. I’m coming to get you!
BNP
Leaves a bad taste in the mouth