The French government on Sunday announced its decision to backtrack on the recently voted bill to increase tax on savings, marking a new setback in President François Hollande's push to reduce the country's deficit, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Budget minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in an interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche that the government will make amendments to exonerate several types of accounts from the proposed increase in tax on savings which was voted in by parliament this week.
"We hear the concerns and we want to...put an end to them," said Mr. Cazeneuve.
The minister said specific employee savings plans, accounts for housing acquisitions and a certain type of savings account held in company shares would be excluded from the new increased tax bill in a bid to protect the assets of less wealthy taxpayers.
The move comes amid a wave of discontentment about the government's fiscal policy, as President François Hollande ploughs ahead with his efforts to fix the country's public finances.
In recent days, tensions have mounted with the representatives of certain sectors of activity stepping up to voice their opposition to various fiscal initiatives.
Friday, France's two top soccer leagues threatened to carry out a strike in protest against a 75% tax, which would be paid by companies on behalf of employees earning over 1 million euros ($1.38 million) annually. Saturday violent demonstrations erupted in France's Brittany region as workers from the agricultural sector rallied against a so-called "eco-tax", set to be imposed on large trucks transporting goods from January 2014 onward.
Read more of this report from The Wall Street Journal.