Piketty Says 2% Wealth Tax Is ‘Absolute Minimum’ for France

Thomas Piketty said a proposal for a 2% wealth tax at the center of France’s budget uproar is necessary but insufficient to address the country’s fiscal challenges.

“This is the absolute minimum,” the French economist told Bloomberg Radio. “The problem is that it’s too small, given the size of the public debt plus the size of all the new investment that’s needed.”

Taxing the rich is back on the agenda in Paris as Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tries to get support from opposition parties for a budget to pare the country’s gaping budget deficit.

French economist Thomas Piketty says a proposal for a 2% wealth tax at the center of France’s budget uproar is necessary but insufficient to address the country’s fiscal challenges. He spoke Caroline Hepker on Bloomberg Radio about inequality, economics, and his views on billionaires

Socialist lawmakers, who will likely ...