Francois Hollande, the French presidential candidate for the Socialist Party, appears to have set out his tax plans in a prime time interview on French TV, the BBC reports:
"Above 1m euros [£847,000; $1.3m], the tax rate should be 75% because it's not possible to have that level of income."
Those are strong words - Hollande has already spooked some people with his stubborn positions on the EU treaty and called the "world of finance" his real enemy.
The FT's Hugh Carnegy reports that the proposal goes far beyond Hollande's own manifesto, which calls for a top bracket of 45%, and "seemed to take his own party by surprise".
The timing seems odd too, what with Hollande's trip to London tomorrow. We struggle to see how this announcement will win the support of City-based investors.
Sarkozy has been closing in on Hollande's lead, according to Reuters, halving the gap to 3.5% in just a week. However, Hollande remains far ahead in polls regarding a head to head race between the UMP leader and himself, a distinct possibility in France's two round system. If the move is intended to win over voters, it's perhaps a risky gamble.
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