French president Emmanuel Macron's business-friendly government unveiled its first annual budget Wednesday, fending off criticism that its tax cuts favour the very wealthiest, reports The Economic Times.
Ministers insisted the 2018 budget would benefit both rich and poor after criticism from left-wing opponents about the slashing of a tax on financial investments which raised 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion) last year.
Left-leaning newspaper Libération ran the front-page headline "Hero to the rich" ..
alongside a picture of Macron, a former investment banker who came to power in May promising to make it easier to do business in France.
"We want to create wealth before redistributing it," economy minister Bruno Le Maire told a press conference.
He defended the budget as one which would "benefit all French people without exception", not just the richest, saying cuts to household tax -- due to be scrapped for 80 percent of families by 2020 -- would boost the purchasing of millions.
"We wanted to protect the least well-off, to protect the most vulnerable," he added, with ministers pointing to measures to help low-paid workers and more support for those caring for disabled children.
High-paid finance workers will notably face lower taxes on their salaries as the government eyes a lucrative slice of London's banking industry, with multi-nationals shifting business away from Britain ahead of Brexit.
In total, France plans some seven billion euros ($8.2 billion) in tax cuts, lower than the 10 billion initially planned.
Read more of this AFP report published by The Economic Times.