This "ceiling", recently introduced (2006), tends to negate the wealth tax on the wealthiest. People of very high net worth are generally in a position to approximately fix their taxable income level, knowing they will pay 60% of that in tax - they thus set their tax contribution themselves, and avoid most of the wealth tax they'd be liable for. It's widely seen as a tax break for the very rich.
Sarkozy intends to bring the ceiling down to 50% of income. Royal says she will abrogate the whole measure.
And that's just what I know about and I haven't looked actively.
Thanks.
Even without "protected accounts", you have two ways to pay less or zero tax:
(I'm just using google.fr here, I'm not a specialist...)
both have some protected account features, the ones you have mentioned before plus the benefits for smaller sales annually. US has ira's and 401k's that have their biggest benefits (% wise) in the middle class and below--as long as people choose to use them.
I'm under the impression that fewer in France invest in stocks, however. In the US it's well over 50% now. I'm kind of assuming that French pensions are better than US social security, and therefore the French have less reason to invest. Is this your impression as well--on both points?
But if you look at Assurance Vie, 59% of households (22 millions people) have position in Assurance Vie (can be bonds or stocks or whatever - I have some commodities and derivatives in mine).
http://www.cnp.fr/Epargne/Magazine/art_1793.htm
There are about 7.5 millions PEA (plan d'epargne en action) in France, 59% of it is in index/managed fund (OPCVM) and 41% in direct stocks.
http://www.lemoneymag.fr/v4/fiche/s_Fiche_v4/0,5382,13303,00.html
I don't know how many people end up owning stock directly or indirectly in France.
Where did you get the US data from?
I guess in American lingo though, we probably would count that Assurance Vie holding as stock ownership--that is if it's like our ira's and 401k's. In these accounts you have a choice as to how much money to put in, (though there is a maximum), and you have choices as to how to invest the money. Choices may range from almost all choices (for example I own 10 stocks in individual companies and three mutual funds in an IRA), to some company plans where you could be limited to choosing between 5--10 mutual funds. So if Assurance Vie is like that, we would call that direct ownership.
Plus it has the side effect of lowering contribution to social tax based on salaries since wealthy people will now get very low salary.
Welcome to France under a right-wing government :).
