The stupidest left in the world?
Vincent Nguyen Van, Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine)
It is said that France has the stupidest right in the world. If that is the case, perhaps it will feel less alone after the appointment of Michel Barnier… Because was it not the sectarianism of the New Popular Front, its promise repeated a hundred times of a motion of censure if the new Prime Minister had not come out of its ranks, which led Emmanuel Macron to choose the only possible option: that of a right-wing Prime Minister with the blessing of the RN? Proof that the best is still and always the enemy of the good… (“Barnier, the crazy story of an unexpected event“, L’Express of September 12.)
Let’s reinstate the housing tax!
Jean-Paul Archambault, Capbreton (Landes)
We absolutely need to make savings of 10 to 20 billion euros per year to avoid suffering the fate of Greece and we are looking for sources, for leads? But I read “Households have benefited from the abolition of the housing tax (nearly 20 billion less… for state finances)”! And this even though our President had declared “Real estate is an income”… Should we reinstate the housing tax? There they are, the billions we are looking for… (“Bruno Le Maire at Bercy, the real assessment”L’Express of August 22.)
The values of Olympism
Bernadette Ambal, Les Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée)
During these Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have seen athletes compete in a spirit of understanding, friendship and loyalty. Of course, each athlete has fought to be the best, exulting with joy or rage depending on the final result, without forgetting to finally fall into the arms of his opponents at the finish. That is life; that is humanity. Who is going to advise Messrs. Mélenchon and his ilk to do sport? (“Olympic Games, time to take stock: the highs and lows of Paris 2024″on Lexpress.fr)
Let’s give Tibet back its name
Bruno Lonchampt, Dole (Jura)
Changing the name of a region means making it disappear. However, on world maps, a large part of the former Tibet is dissolved into Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan. Its historical name only survived – in part – in the “autonomous” region of Tibet, created in 1965. This was still too much, since this region became that of Xizang. The most surprising thing is to see this policy of renaming encouraged by major French museums. The rooms on Tibet are in fact called “Himalayan world” at the Guimet Museum, while at the Quai Branly Museum, the word “Tibet” is relegated to the parentheses after Xizang. The underside of maps and labels unfortunately converge… Can the genocide of Tibetan civilization disappear by erasing even its name? Tibet is part of the diversity of the world. (“In India, Tibetan exiles remember ‘Free Tibet’“”, on Lexpress.fr)
Inheritance taxes already high
Yves Simon, Sainte-Mère-Eglise (Manche)
Antoine Foucher proposes to increase the inheritance tax on the largest inheritances above 500,000 euros to 10%, compared to 5% today. This information is completely incorrect. As indicated in the official texts concerning inheritance tax between parents and children, taxation is carried out in brackets (as for income tax). It is 5% only for inheritances below 8,072 euros (after deduction) and reaches, for example, 20% between 15,933 and 552,325 euros. An inheritance of 500,000 euros, taking into account the first deduction bracket of 100,000 euros, therefore results in a tax amount of 58,194 euros (i.e. 11.64%). Above 552,325 euros, this taxation rises to 30% (or more). (“Purchasing power: the Foucher plan”L’Express of August 29.)
Editorial details: Antoine Foucher explains in his book that the effective rate of inheritance tax is much lower than the apparent rates. Officially, in fact, it rises to 45%, but on average, it is actually 6%, due to the numerous allowances and exemptions. The proof is in figures: in 2022, while 300 billion euros were transferred, the product of inheritance tax was only 18.6 billion (“Assemblée nationale, Rapport d’information sur la fiscalité du patrimoine”, by Jean-Paul Mattei and Nicolas Sansu, September 2023, p. 43).
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