France in trouble- people not spending on common needs- government trying hard to keep treasury filled.
French President Francois Hollande made changes to his failed proposal for a 75% top tax rate on Thursday, shifting the burden of payment from individuals to businesses that pay salaries over 1 million euros.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/29/news/economy/france-tax-hollande/index.html?iid=HP_MP_River
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/29/us-france-economy-idUSBRE92S0AB20130329
http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/29/news/economy/france-tax-hollande/index.html?iid=HP_MP_River
French economy dogged by weak spending, fiscal strain.
President Francois Hollande sought to reassure the public in a TV interview on Thursday that he has the tools to restore France to growth, promising measures to boost consumer spending, which accounts for more than half of the economy.
But data on Friday showed that spending on goods slipped 0.2 percent in February from the previous month, disappointing analysts polled by Reuters who expected a rebound, and following a 0.9 percent drop in January as rampant unemployment and tax rises continued to bite.
"This is the result of very bad consumer morale," said BNP Paribas economist Dominique Barbet, adding that consumption would likely shrink 0.8 percent in the first quarter if March proves as bleak as the past two months.
Consumers spent less on clothing and shoes, which was the main drag on the overall reading, while spending on household goods fell for the second month in a row.
"Households concentrate their spending cuts on everything they can control: cars, clothes, household goods," Barbet said, noting people tend to stick to window-shopping for those goods in hard times or not go shopping at all.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/29/us-france-economy-idUSBRE92S0AB20130329
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