It Begins: France‘s Socialist Gov’t Goes After the ‘Well-Off’

PARIS (AP/The Blaze) — France’s Socialist government wants to raise €7.2 billion ($9 billion) in new revenue from higher taxes on estates, banks, and oil companies to try to reduce the deficit.

The measures are among those in a revised 2012 budget draft presented at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. It will go to parliament later this month, where it is expected to win approval.

France’s new leadership has criticized austerity measures imposed around Europe, saying they are making the region’s debt crisis worse. It has focused on higher taxes for the “well-off,” though some spending cuts are also expected.

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