French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday promised to “significantly” reduce income tax for workers in France while defending his controversial decision to scrap a wealth tax early in his term.
“I want cuts for people who work by significantly reducing income taxes,” Macron said during a speech in which he is laying out his response to five months of anti-government protests.
“I have asked the government to implement this tax cut by financing it through the elimination of some tax breaks available for companies, by the need to work longer, and reductions in our public spending,” Macron added.
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Macron said he was aware of complaints about his decision to reform a special tax on the earnings of millionaires in the months following his election in May 2017.
He said it would be reviewed in 2020 and sought to justify it, saying it was designed to stimulate investment in the French economy.
He also stressed that part of the tax — on the property of high-earners — had been retained.
“It was a reform to stimulate production, not a present for the rich,” he said.
