France plots tax on super-rich to rearm – and Britain could be next

Who Counts as “Super‑Rich” and Who Gets Hit?

• Several argue that “super‑rich” rhetoric masks taxes that mostly hit upper‑middle professionals and ordinary asset owners, not billionaires.
• Examples from Switzerland and housing markets suggest wealth thresholds can be below what’s needed for basic homeownership in major cities.
• Concern that new “defence” taxes will fall mainly on workers and professionals who are less mobile than the ultra‑rich.

Mobility, Capital Flight, and the Laffer Curve

• One side claims high top rates and wealth taxes just drive millionaires/billionaires abroad (citing France’s past wealth tax, UK “non‑dom” changes, US state tax moves, and Hollande’s failed 75% rate).
• Others reply that only a small fraction leave, many were barely taxed anyway, and remaining rich still generate higher revenue; capital flight numbers versus annual revenue are contested and seen as often misrepresented.
• Debate over whether the Laffer curve meaningfully constrains current Western tax rates; some say empirical support exists only at very high rates, others insist behaviorally it’s obvious even if hard to quantify.

Wealth, Land, and Inheritance Taxes

• Strong support from some for taxing land and inherited/gifted wealth more than labor income (Georgist arguments), viewing land/monopoly rents as unproductive.
• Critics argue Georgism is outdated in an intangible, services, and IP‑based economy, and that land is more evenly distributed than wealth so incidence may not be as progressive as advertised.
• Wealth taxes raise practical problems for illiquid assets (paper equity, inherited land) and are seen by opponents as slow confiscation via compounding.

Historical Tax Regimes and Investment

• Dispute over lessons from mid‑20th‑century US top marginal rates (~90%):
  • One side: high effective rates coincided with strong growth, a broad middle class, and productive public investment.
  • Other side: few actually paid headline rates due to shelters; very high rates diverted capital into bad tax‑driven investments and encouraged avoidance.
• Arguments over whether rich “hoard” wealth or necessarily invest it, the role of stock buybacks, and proposals ranging from ~10% flat tax to much steeper progressive schedules.

Defence Spending vs. “Adventurism”

• Some see taxing the wealthy for rearmament as fair: they benefit from national security and stable markets.
• Others say France/UK already have nuclear deterrents; extra spending is framed as NATO geopolitics and foreign adventures, not self‑defence.
• A minority welcomes EU rearmament as industrial policy: more domestic arms production and high‑skill jobs, reducing reliance on US contractors.

Evasion, Inequality, and Social Risk

• Widespread skepticism that any “super‑rich” tax will bite those using offshore structures; expectation is higher income taxes on domestically‑based high earners instead.
• Deep concern about rising inequality; some fear eventual unrest, others counter that modern surveillance, drones and robotics increase state and elite coercive capacity.