Budgetary blues
Tax rises have reached their limit
THE French government unveiled what it called a “historic” 2014 budget on September 25th, intended both to reassure doubters abroad that it is still serious about controlling its public finances and voters at home that it has heard their howls over tax increases. Yet with public debt expected to top 95% of GDP next year, economic growth fragile and the overall tax take inching up to 46.1% of GDP, the fifth consecutive yearly increase, France is not out of the danger zone yet.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Budgetary blues”
From the September 28th 2013 edition
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