The gilets jaunes who are protesting in France are uncoordinated and do not have any specific demands. However their concerns are around the cost of living, stagnant salaries and seemingly constant tax increases. I don't have any miracle solutions but I think transparency and simplification would help a lot. At present we have overs 200 different taxes and contributions in France (Income tax, Corporation, Social security, Fuel tax, VAT, Local, Housing taxes etc ). But ultimately all taxes are paid one way or another by citizens. For people to make informed decisions on policies and society they need to have the required information. I would suggest that all taxes and contributions in France be replaced by a maximum of 5 different taxes which could be:
- Income tax
- Inheritance tax
- Consumption tax (or VAT)
- Health tax
- Environmental tax
We could raise the same amount of revenue as before but each year the government would have to publish the amount raised under each category. I'm pretty sure it would allow a much healthier debate about what is possible and what is fair.
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