From: [email protected] [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/17/french-government-reinstate-overtime-tax-hollande> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/17/french-government-reinstate-overtime-tax-hollande
French government to reinstate overtime tax François Hollande to abolish controversial overtime law in bid to strengthen 35-hour maximum week and wipe €3bn off deficit <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/kim-willsher> Kim Willsher in Paris <http://www.guardian.co.uk/> guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 July 2012 08.56 EDT * <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/17/french-government-reinstate-overtime-tax-hollande#start-of-comments> Jump to comments (168) France's President Francois Hollande <http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2012/7/17/1342529561820/Frances-President-Francoi-008.jpg> France's president François Hollande. His plan to reintroduce tax on overtime aims to reduce the public deficit and strengthen the 35-hour week. Small firms are allowed to keep the tax break. Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images France's Socialist government is to bury the "work-more-to-earn more" philosophy of former president <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/nicolas-sarkozy> Nicolas Sarkozy by reinstating taxes on overtime. The measure is also intended to strengthen the French left's totemic 35-hour maximum working week and wipe at least €3bn off the country's public deficit. Abolishing the controversial overtime working law was a major pledge in <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/francois-hollande> François Hollande's successful presidential campaign. However, companies with less than 20 staff will be able to keep the tax break on extra working hours, as part of Hollande's promise to boost small firms. The notion of a hard-working "France that gets up early" became symbolic of the Sarkozy era, a slogan designed to incite greater industriousness from the working population. Removing taxes and charges on overtime was one of the first measures introduced by Sarkozy's right-of-centre government in 2007 in the hope it would encourage employment and make the 35-hour maximum working week regulation – introduced by a Socialist government in 2000 – impotent. The French right has long railed against the 35-hour week; last year, Jean-François Copé, the head of Sarkozy's UMP party, said <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/23/sarkozy-party-end-35-hour-week> scrapping it was "inescapable". However, critics of Sarkozy's tax break on overtime claimed it encouraged companies to offer overtime instead of taking on more staff. Firms and workers were also suspected of attributing normal working hours to overtime to avoid paying taxes and social security contributions on them. According to the recent figures it cost France dearly: an estimated €4.5bn in 2010. Defenders of the tax break claim it gave more than 9 million workers around €42 extra a month in their pay packets, but a cross-party parliamentary report suggested it was of no particular benefit to low-income families and that the fiscal advantages increased for higher earners. "The efficiency of the part of the measure inciting people to work more has not been shown," it declared. Another study by the Institute of Public Politics suggested it had resulted in "no significant impact on the number of hours worked". While experts disagree over whether reintroducing taxes on overtime will reduce unemployment, currently at 10.1%, the former UMP prime minister François Fillon described the Hollande government's decision to do so as "double stupidity". "It is very, very bad news," Fillon said. "Firstly it's a mistake for the French economy which needs to be flexible. It's making an economy that is already the most rigid of all European economies even more rigid, the opposite of what we should be doing in a time of crisis. "Secondly, it's 9 million workers whose spending power will be reduced." Bernard Thibault, head of the powerful CGT union, welcomed the abolition though he said he was not convinced it would create more jobs. "What I am sure is that having recourse to a state-financed mechanism to incite overtime … is not neutral from an employment point of view," he said. The measure is expected to take effect from 1 August. * * * From: Portside Moderator [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] http://thegrio.com/2012/07/17/the-voice-silenced-britains-largest-black-newspaper-barred-from-olympic-stadium/ ‘The Voice’ silenced: Britain’s largest black newspaper barred from Olympic Stadium by Kunbi Tinuoye The Grio: July 17, 2012 Britons have expressed outrage that Britain’s longest serving and biggest black newspaper <http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/access-denied-voice-readers-furious-over-olympic-snub> , The Voice, has been denied accreditation to the Olympic Stadium. In an interview with theGrio, Sports Editor Rodney Hinds says staff at the paper “are stunned by the decision” and the “outpouring of support from our community has been overwhelming.” The paper’s managing director George Ruddock said “he was extremely disappointed The Voice will not be inside the stadium,” despite the high number of black British athletes on the national team. theGrio <http://thegrio.com/2012/07/06/jason-richardson-world-champion-hurdler-enters-olympics-for-first-time/> VIDEO: World champion hurdler Jason Richardson ready for London The 2012 Olympics is taking place in East London’s multicultural community and one of the key themes behind London’s Olympic bid was celebrating the diversity of London and the UK. However, when The Voice applied for accreditation they received this reply. “After careful consideration by the Media Accreditation Committee, we regret to inform you that your application accreditation for the London 2012 Olympic Games has been unsuccessful,” it wrote in a letter to the paper. theGrio <http://thegrio.com/2012/07/13/lia-neal-brooklyn-teen-swims-her-way-to-london-games/#48176585> VIDEO: Brooklyn teen Lia Neal swims her way to Olympic games The British Olympics Association (BOA) said it only had space for 400 journalists and told The Voice it would go on a waiting list. “We’ve known about the decision for a while but with the Olympics just days away we can only assume we’ve been sidelined,” says Hinds. Hinds says the decision was taken by the board of the British Olympics Association and “to his knowledge there are no black people on that board.” He says it important for The Voice to get access because the stadium is the main venue for track and field. An online petition <http://www.change.org/petitions/british-olympic-association-london-2012-olympic-games-allow-the-voice-newspaper-media-accreditation-for-the-olympics-2012> has been launched on behalf of The Voice, with most saying the decision by the British Olympics Association is “shocking” and a “disgrace.” The story has also been trending on social networking sites. According to an article <http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/access-denied-voice-readers-furious-over-olympic-snub> on The Voice website, the paper “has been inundated with messages of support from readers, MPs, campaigners, celebrities and journalists who started their career at the newspaper.” Simon Woolley, chief executive of Operation Black Vote, told The Voice, “I hope that the games authorities will rethink their position. Without The Voice there, there is no black British perspective on the games. The Mirror, The Sun and The Guardian will not report the same story.” Hinds says the paper is now reaching out to black Members of Parliament and high-profile minority individuals to support their campaign to reverse the decision. The Voice was founded in 1982 by Jamaican-born accountant Val McCalla. Over the past 30 years, it has been an important training ground for minority journalists, where novice writers are given the opportunity to cut their teeth and develop before landing coveted Fleet Street or broadcast journalist jobs. High-profile black British journalists, such as Rageh Omaar and Dotun Adabayo, have all passed through the paper. The Voice offices are in London’s Docklands, just a stone’s throw away from Stratford’s Olympic stadium. The paper is the only national weekly black weekly newspaper in the UK. TheGrio attempted to contact the BOA but received no response. Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti <http://twitter.com/Kunbiti> _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2179 / Virus Database: 2437/5138 - Release Date: 07/17/12 _____ No virus found in this message. 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