France’s Tax Increases to Hit Some 300 Companies, Premier Says

Planned tax increases to get France’s budget deficit under control will hit about 300 of the country’s biggest companies, Prime Minister Michel Barnier said.

The increase will be temporary, for one or two years, and will be limited to companies with €1 billion ($1.1 billion) of annual revenue or more, Barnier said on France 2 television.

Michel Barnier

Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

“We’ve asked the biggest companies to make an exceptional, temporary effort,” he said. “And I think they can accept this effort.”

Barnier said levies for individual taxpayers will be increased only on the wealthiest, which he defined as a couple with annual income ...