The luxury billionaire Bernard Arnault joins the French indignation because of the “deadly” proposal of wealth tax

The French business leaders settled the Left offer regarding the new tax on very wealthy as “crazy” and “communist”, because the premiere of the socialist party presses to the new Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron to ensure a rich payment of a fair participation in efforts to narrow the public deficit.

The voices of socialists are necessary to survive the most important Sébastien Lecorn, after the suspended parliament overthrew two prime ministers in less than a year in connection with attempts to reduce public expenditure. Leftwing legislators insist on a person with a fortune exceeding EUR 100 million to pay at least 2 percent tax per year on all their assets, including their companies, shares of companies and unrealized profits.

Bernard Arnault, general director of the luxury conglomerate LVMHHe said that the emphasis was “clearly defined desire to destroy the French economy.”

“I can’t believe that the French political forces that rule or rule the country can give any credibility of the offensive that is fatal to our economy,” said the billionaire in a statement.

Arnault is not alone based on this idea. Éric Larchevêque, co -founder of Crypto Portfare Company Ledger, said the Financial Times: “This is collectivism, it’s communism … This is a fundamental attack on my freedom and the right to property.”

From Ledger recently valued at EUR 1.3 billion by Venture Capital investors, the share of Larchevêque puts his fortune so high that he would have to pay a new property tax, despite the fact that the private start-up does not earn or pay dividends.

If it is introduced, The so -called Zucman tax -leased in honor of Gabriela Zmanan, an economist who raised this idea-would be a blow to the business-friendly Macron program, because he was chosen for the first time in 2017, committing to transforming France into “Nation Start-up”.

One of the president’s first movements was the reduction of tax on net assets from the personal assets of people above a specific threshold by replacing it with a narrower tax on real estate assets. He also gradually reduced corporate taxes from 33 to 25 percent and applied a 30 percent flat tax on capital gains.

But Macron paid a high political price for these tax reductions, and opponents quickly marked him as “the president of the rich.”

Macron remained strongly opposed to property taxes and perceived Zuman’s proposal as aberration, said a person familiar with his thinking. Lecornu told the French regional newspapers that he was open to discussing “tax justice and sharing with weight”, but he warned that “professional assets” should be treated with “care”.

Supporters of the Zuman tax claim, which will raise EUR 15 billion a year, reducing the need for cuts of expenses while fighting a public deficit, which is to reach 5.4 percent of GDP until the end of the year – one of the highest in the euro area.

But other economists said that it can collect only EUR 5 billion. The predecessor of Lecorn, François Bayrou, was overthrown in relation to his proposed budget for 2026, which covered EUR 44 billion of expenditure reductions and tax increases.

Arnault issued a “extremely leftist activist”, whose “ideology aims to destroy the liberal economy.” Arnault is one of the richest people in the world, mainly due to its control in a luxurious luxury group worth EUR 256 billion, which he built.

Arnault said that “pseudo -academic academic competences of Zmanan are widely discussed”, adding that he was addressed to him personally, considering that he was “certainly the largest individual taxpayer and one of the largest corporate taxpayers through the companies I led.”

Zucman described the criticism of Arnault as “unfounded”.

“Driving from one of the richest people in the world and in a context in which academic freedom is questioned in the growing number of countries, this rhetoric … should worry us all,” wrote Zucman on X, adding: “Time to tax billionaires at a minimum rate.”

Zmanan’s tax would be particularly problematic for owners of promising technological start-ups, which, despite their high valuations on paper, often do not generate profit or dividends. These people can face tax accounts that exceed all have liquid assets.

Pro-Zucman Camp argued that the founders of start-ups can simply pay tax accounts, transferring shares to the French Fund for the French Fund or Borrow-with a strongly questioned ideas.

Critics say, however, that the tax may be unconstitutional, considering how about 1,800 people will affect a small group.

Philippe Corrot, co -founder of Milak, who is priced at $ 3.5 billion, told FT that “absurd” and “dangerous” “putting people in the situation of sales” some of their companies in order to pay taxes.

But the argument that more should be made to tax a super-protective is popular in a country that is home to some of the richest people in the world, such as Arnault or the family of billionaires for Hermès and L’Oréal.

Above half a million people were marching After the streets of Paris and other French cities last week to protest against the upcoming cuts of expenses, and many were worn by signs that required taxation of the rich.

The IFOP survey ordered by socialists recently showed that 86 percent of the respondents supported Zucman.

“Who will say no if you say” let’s tax 2 percent rich? “, Said Fabrice Le Saché, vice -chairman of the Lobby Medef and the founder of the company dealing with credit trading. “People are difficult to understand that the value of the company is not cash in your pocket.”

Many business leaders now believe that some form of tax on property has become inevitable, but hopes for a subdued version. One of the options would be an extension of allegedly temporary funds included in this year’s budget, such as exceeding tax from people earning over EUR 250,000 per year, as well as an increase in taxes from large companies.

“Everyone has to make an effort and no one said that we do not want to pay taxes … but this cannot discourage people from taking risks, it cannot be a confiscate,” said Corrot Miall.

“Would I create Mirakla in France 15 years ago if these taxes existed?”

Additional reports of Ian Johnston