The top income tax rate proposed by Francois Hollande, has been struck down by the French constitutional council.  Hollande has made raising taxes on those earning over one million euros(1.3 million USD), a centerpiece of his administration. This policy has caused an uproar among the wealthy in France, who claim they would emigrate rather than deal with such an excessive tax.  French actor Gerard Depardieu announced he was moving to Belgium in order to avoid the excessive taxation.  This brought about an angry response from those on the left.  How dare he exercise his right to move about, in an effort to avoid an unfair and unjust tax burden.  In its ruling, the Constitutional Council said the tax, “failed to recognise equality before public burdens” due to the fact that unlike other forms of income tax, applied to individuals rather than households.  In other words, in an individual who earns one million euros will have to pay the tax, but a household where two people earn 900 thousand euros a piece, they won’t be subject to the tax.  In addition, the council rejected the new means for how the tax was calculated.  Unlike the austerity measures in Spain and Greece, Hollande doesn’t agree in spending cuts, rather he favors closing the deficit by increasing taxes on the wealthy.  He is a true Socialist, and campaigned as such, so no one should be surprised.  Whether he succeeds in driving out the entrepreneurs and other successful people, i.e. actors, bankers etc, who don’t wish to be penalized for their success, is another matter.  It is interesting that there are people who believe, that even those who earn their wealth legally, are obliged to give it away to others.  It’s the very reason Communism failed miserably.  Governments that wish to steal the wealth of those who earn it, discourage ingenuity and encourage stagnation.