Revolting Europe
tax
Swedish lessons? Interpreting the recent elections
It is difficult to conceive that those responsible for the crisis, implementing measures that created the crisis, are the answer to it. Yet they’ll have us believe these are the lessons from the Swedish elections. Is this so, asks Francisco Louçã A little over a week ago, the Swedish elections produced a slim majority for a … Continue reading
Usual suspects still having an good crisis
Companies are piling up their cash while millions languish on the dole; the rich enjoy tax largesse to be paid for by more cuts to public services: the latest figures from Italy and Spain remind us who is winning and losing in the neo-liberal austerity crisis. While we hear of a serious credit crisis and … Continue reading
On President Hollande’s New Year bomb
IN THE RADICAL PRESS / HUMANITE By Patrick Apel -Muller François Hollande’s New Year message did not mark a political turning point, which came just a few months after his election, but it expressed his right turn without any attempt at camoflauge. Priority is to be given to the demands of big business, austerity for … Continue reading
France’s tax revolt
France is in revolt over tax. In recent weeks the protagonists have ranged from drivers of heavy goods vehicles, wealthy cereal farmers, even the equestrian lobby. And, almost everybody in the depressed north western region of Brittany, it seems. The narrative is that Socialist France is ‘over-taxed’. As soon as he was elected President 18 months … Continue reading
Employers call for ‘tax haven’ in France
By Patrick Apel-Muller The new head of the French Employers Association MEDEF, Pierre Gattaz, considers himself to have the ear of power, so much as to say aloud what employers want in France: ‘A tax haven’. He did not mean by this one of those tiny states which are used to launder money from corporations … Continue reading
Spanish radicals ‘ready to govern the exit from neo-liberalism’ – Interview with Cayo Lara
Interview with Cayo Lara, leader of Izquierda Unida (United Left) Cayo Lara, 61, is general co-ordinator Izquierda Unida (United Left). During the party’s last Congress he was re-elected by a unanimous vote to lead the party, that in parliamentary elections in November 2011 achieved almost 7% of the vote, winning 11 seats. Since then, under his … Continue reading
Why Hollande’s plans on tax havens and dodgy politicians aren’t good enough
French President Francois Hollande, facing a major popularity crisis following two major tax scandals involving a minister tasked with cracking down on tax evasion, and very senior aide who was treasurer for his presidential campaign, announced Wednesday a number of measures to address tax dodging and the dodgy financial dealings of politicians. But, as French … Continue reading
The Past Masters of Error Pontificate Again
By Juan Torres López The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has just published its new report on the Spanish economy that makes predictions about our immediate future and presents proposals, it says, to exit the crisis. The forecasts pour a bucket of cold water on the Spanish government because they say that we … Continue reading
Austerity swells Spain’s precariat by two million
Spain’s precariat has swollen to more than 20.6 million – or 43.74% of the population, thanks to rising unemployment, wage and welfare cuts, according to the tax officials’ union. Since 2007, austerity and neo-liberal reforms have meant two million more Spaniards live in households with incomes of less than 12,000 euros a year, finds a … Continue reading
Four fairer ways for Portugal to close budget gap
The Portuguese government has caused outrage by proposals to raid the incomes of workers through a massive hike in social security contributions. This was massively unfair given the heavy burden already placed in a string of previous austerity budgets on middle and low incomes in the country and especially because it came as social security … Continue reading
French socialists soak the rich
France’s new socialist government is pushing ahead with highly popular promises to make the rich and corporations shoulder a far greater burden of the costs of the economic crisis. There will be a big one-off increase in wealth taxes and surcharges on banks and energy companies in the country’s supplementary 2012 budget. An extra €2.3bn … Continue reading
Mr Monti, here’s what waste to cut
An alternative budget for Italy The initiative by Mario Monti’s government to ask citizens to suggest cuts has produced predictable results. The capitalist-owned mass media has been banging on about the ‘cost of politics’ for months and hey presto the vast majority of proposals posted on the dedicated government website from ordinary Italians have been … Continue reading
Spain: On Rajoy’s New Year tax bombshell
A New Year gift it was not. To the surprise and dismay of the many Spaniards, their new premier Mariano Rajoy announced on December 30 that there would a raft of tax increases: on incomes, interest from savings and a certain properties. This tax bombshell at the end of a very tough year was not … Continue reading
Italian activists launch debt audit campaign
A campaign has been launched for a citizen’s audit of Italy’s debt. Behind the initiative are Giorgio Cremaschi, a senior figure in the FIOM metalworkers union, former Communist Refoundation leader Fausto Bertinotti and economist Loretta Napoleoni, among others. The aim of the popular debt audit is to create a commission, made up of a representatives … Continue reading
Italy: Here’s where all the money went
Italy is broke we are told. Well there are reasons for this. This is not an exhaustive list. Euros 120 billion (£102 billion) – tax evasion Euros 60 billion – corruption Euros 230 billion – foregone tax revenues from capital sitting in tax havens* Euros 45 billion – cost of injuries at work in social … Continue reading
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