French work more than six months to pay for State

IF you are working in France then tomorrow is the first day this year that you will be enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Because, for more than six months of the year French taxpayers are contributing to the upkeep of the State through their social charges and taxes; from July 12 people start earning money for themselves.

And campaign group Contribuables Associés says cost savings have to be made by government as the price of running France heads upwards, and Tax Freedom Day takes longer to reach.

In Europe only Sweden has a freedom date later than France, but the group claims that is coming down, whereas French workers are seeing the date of their liberation from taxation stretching further into the year.

In France people have to work 193 days before they are no longer paying the government, which compares to 164 in the UK and just 130 days in Ireland.

Contribuables Associés claim that based on figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), French workers will have to contribute to the State for the greatest number of days by 2010 in comparison to their colleagues elsewhere in Europe.

Download the Tax Freedom Day in France booklet from Contribuables Associés or read in-page below.

Tax Freedom Day in France