French court upholds Hollande's tax on high income
By Associated Press
Dec 29, 2013 6:27 AM CST

PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande has finally got his super tax on high incomes after the country's highest court upheld the law's latest version.

Hollande originally promised a 75 percent tax on income over 1 million euros ($1.38 million). It would have affected a tiny number of taxpayers, but it became a symbol of Hollande's campaign promise to make France fairer for the middle class.

But the constitutional council threw out that tax as unfair.

Hollande's administration rewrote the tax in the 2014 budget. It is now a 50 percent tax paid by the employer, and doesn't reduce employees' earnings.

The council ruled Sunday that tax was constitutional. In a series of rulings on the budget, it declared a change to the wealth tax that would have taxed latent revenue unconstitutional.