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Wealthy Former YSL CEO Wants To Raise Taxes On The Wealthy

There are a lot of people who wish really, really rich guys had to pay higher income taxes, and it turns out Pierre Berge, former CEO of the storied fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, is one of them.

Berge set tongues wagging today when he told the financial newspaper La Tribune that he believes the people who make the most money should pay the most taxes — he even went so far as to say he finds it “immoral” that rich people pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes. For the record, Berge is most definitely rich. He’s sitting on a fortune estimated larger than $170 million at current exchange rates, but in this case he’s talking about the superrich:

“I am not one of the megarich like Francois Pinault or Bernard Arnault. And I don’t want to send any tax collectors to their homes … But above a certain threshold, we must raise the tax rates on high incomes.”

To put it in perspective, Arnault, the richest man in France, is worth almost $31 billion, making Berge look almost like a pauper in comparison.

Women’s Wear Daily reports that Berge was also asked if legislators in his native France would pass a law raising taxes on the rich to help tamp down that country’s growing deficit. In response, he said, “That depends how many of the president’s rich friends give him a call.”

[WWD]



  • SNAPTIE

    Please do.Nothing holding you back. Sign the check,use a credit card.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LASIK3PT7Z4QXQGTN4G4GZ3QYY Nayith

    Pierre Berge is Amazing guy, but I don’t know what the heel is he doing talking about taxes…

  • http://capitolcommentary.com Harrison

    When it comes to leadership, new ideas, and success to where do we look?  Not France.

  • Michelle

    Funny, you guys never seem to highlight those millionaire businessmen that claim Obama is ruining the economy (like Steve Wynn, who voted for Barry, btw).  I wonder why.

  • JMcCarthy

    Why is it that all these Euro-Billionairs, Soros and this Clown, look like Janet Reno Clones sucking on a lemon?  Is that what being a Communist does to you?

  • Anonymous

    The “taxfoundation.org summary of 2008 income taxes”  reflect the 2001 and 2003 unfunded tax cuts, but do not reflect current unemployment numbers that have reduced amount of revenue being collected. If you’re not working you’re not paying taxes or certainly much less tax than if you were working.  That is why the income for the rich has gone up and income for the middle class is at an all time low percentage speaking. In a recession federal spending goes up  and tax revenues go down. And the economy contracts in recessions, shirking the GDP. While spending’s share of the GDP might be at a post WWII high, tax revenues have fallen to 14.4 percent of the index the lowest since 1950 resulting in our big debt.  Bottomline there are four step that can change the course:
     
    1.  The hardest to do but would offset the indexes is decrease unemployeement so more people are paying Tax
    2.  Close the loop holes in the tax system or better yet go to a flat tax.
    3. Easest to do, but politically most unpopular remove the “Bush Tax cuts”.
    4. Reduce spending by finding for redunancy in the system.
     
    You can only reduce so much spending without impacting national security and other programs that will equally impact the economy e.g. social security, medicare medicate, etc. To Pierre and Buffett’s point mathematically speaking the rich are not paying their fair share. 

  • Anonymous

    Yves Smith: Propaganda or ‘Uncertainty’?
    We keep being told that uncertainty is the reason businesses aren’t
    hiring. But Yves Smith Creator of the blog Naked Capitalism and author
    of “Econned” explains why that excuse is not only destructive, but
    “propaganda that needs to be laughed out of the room”.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPa2s-HYuvE&feature=player_profilepage

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gregory-Smith/100001741334953 Gregory Smith

    I hate that idiot, want to pay more taxes? The IRS form lets you do that! In fact, why not tell your accountant to stop exploiting the loopholes? Why not buy industry? Why not buy or build a home? Why not purchase a $45,000 watch in New York, there are many ways he could pay more taxes. Or better yet, why not give to charity? Hey, I have an idea, the next time a stupid liberal billionare bitches about paying more taxes, let’s confiscate 90% of their wealth, I’ll call it The Stupid Billionaire Tax.
    http://libertarians4freedom.blogspot.com/

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