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| French 75% income tax struck down by constitutional council | French 75% income tax struck down by constitutional council |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| France's constitutional council has overturned a top income tax rate of 75% introduced by Socialist President Francois Hollande. | |
| Raising taxes for those earning more than 1m euros (£817,400) has been a flagship policy for Mr Hollande, who was elected in May. | |
| The policy angered France's business community and prompted some wealthy citizens to say they would emigrate. | The policy angered France's business community and prompted some wealthy citizens to say they would emigrate. |
| The new tax rate was due to take effect in the new year. | The new tax rate was due to take effect in the new year. |
| In its ruling on Saturday, the Constitutional Council said the new tax rate was excessive and rejected new methods for calculating the tax. | |
| The government's tax policy has been the subject of fierce debate in France. | |
| French actor Gerard Depardieu recently announced he was moving to Belgium to avoid taxes, sparking a furious reaction from some on the left. | |
| There was also speculation that people employed in high-income jobs like banking and finance would move elsewhere, including to London. | |
| Mr Hollande campaigned against the austerity policies used in many European countries affected by economic crisis, favouring higher taxes rather than spending cuts to bring down the deficit. |