Bernard Arnault sonne la charge contre la taxe Zucman

La taxe sur les plus hauts patrimoines, dite taxe Zucman, continue d’attiser la colère des patrons français: le milliardaire Bernard Arnault a attaqué son promoteur samedi qualifié de “pseudo universitaire” et de “militant d’extrême gauche”.Après plusieurs dirigeants, le PDG du numéro un mondial du luxe LVMH a à son tour étrillé cette taxe, au centre du débat politique ces derniers jours. Il a jugé que la proposition de l’économiste Gabriel Zucman relevait “d’une volonté clairement formulée de mettre à terre l’économie française”, dans une déclaration au journal britannique Sunday Times, samedi.Selon le milliardaire, Gabriel Zucman “met au service de son idéologie (qui vise la destruction de l’économie libérale, la seule qui fonctionne pour le bien de tous) une pseudo compétence universitaire qui elle-même fait largement débat”.”Ce qui détruit notre économie et plus encore notre société, c’est l’absence de toute forme de patriotisme de la part des ultra riches qui mendient l’aide de l’État mais ne se plient à aucune forme de solidarité”, lui a répondu sur X le premier secrétaire du parti socialiste Olivier Faure.La taxe Zucman consisterait à taxer à hauteur de 2% par an les patrimoines supérieurs à 100 millions d’euros, ce qui concerne 1.800 foyers fiscaux, et permettrait de lever 20 milliards d’euros, moins selon d’autres experts.Fortement soutenue par la gauche, qui y voit un levier fiscal intéressant pour contribuer à réduire le déficit budgétaire, la taxe Zucman est décriée au centre, à droite et à l’extrême droite.Alors que l’idée d’un effort de tous fait son chemin, Bernard Arnault met en avant le poids des impôts qu’il paie déjà : “je suis certainement le tout premier contribuable à titre personnel et l’un des plus importants à travers les sociétés que je dirige”, affirme-t-il.Le chef d’entreprise détient avec sa famille la septième fortune mondiale et la première française, selon le magazine Forbes, qui estimait en septembre son patrimoine à 154 milliards de dollars.- Spoliation – En 2024, le groupe de luxe LVMH qui possède plus de 75 marques dont Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët et Hennessy ou encore Chaumet, a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires de plus de 84 milliards d’euros et un bénéfice de 12,55 milliards d’euros.Selon les déclarations de M. Arnault devant la commission du Sénat en mai, “près de 15 milliards d’euros d’impôt sur les sociétés ont été payés en France sur dix ans” par le groupe. Il n’a pas dévoilé le montant dont il s’acquittait à titre personnel.La taxe Zucman attise la vindicte des milieux d’affaires français depuis ces derniers jours, “frein à l’investissement” pour le Medef, un “truc absurde” fleurant “une histoire de jalousie à la française” pour le patron de BpiFrance Nicolas Dufourcq.Dans un entretien dans La Tribune samedi, le banquier estime que les entrepreneurs sont “la solution aux problèmes de la France” et sont ceux qui créent de la richesse “pour qu’elle soit ensuite redistribuée”.La taxe “intègre l’outil de travail dans le calcul du patrimoine, alors même que l’ISF ne le faisait pas!”, s’est insurgé le président du Medef, Patrick Martin. “Pour certaines entreprises ― dans la tech notamment ― qui valent cher mais ne font pas encore de résultats ou ne distribuent pas de dividendes, instaurer cette taxe serait même une forme de spoliation et les condamnerait à la vente”, prédit-il.Le président de l’organisation patronale CPME Amir Reza-Tofighi a dénoncé une taxation “suicidaire pour notre économie et donc une ligne rouge absolue”.D’autres sont plus nuancés comme Pascal Demurger, le co-président du mouvement patronal Impact France qui a estimé mercredi sur RTL que les entreprises comme les Français fortunés devaient contribuer au redressement des finances publiques.”Je dis oui à une taxe, c’est clair. Sur la taxe Zucman telle qu’elle est proposée, il y a peut-être des ajustements à faire, des discussions à avoir”, a jugé le patron de la Maif.

Angleterre: le derby pour Liverpool, le soulagement pour Manchester et Amorim

Manchester United a offert une bouffée d’oxygène à l’entraîneur Ruben Amorim au bout d’un sommet chaotique contre Chelsea (2-1), dans une Premier League totalement dominée par Liverpool, victorieux du derby contre Everton à Anfield.En conclusion, il valait mieux porter un maillot rouge plutôt que bleu, samedi durant la 5e journée en Angleterre.- Old Trafford voit rouge -Les “Blues” de Chelsea ont encaissé leur première défaite en championnat, à Old Trafford et sous une pluie continue, la faute à un début de rencontre cauchemardesque.Au “théâtre des rêves”, les visiteurs ont perdu très vite leur gardien Robert Sanchez, expulsé après une faute sur Bryan Mbeumo (4e), puis leur pépite offensive Cole Palmer, remplacé car diminué physiquement (21e).Entre temps, le capitaine Bruno Fernandes a inscrit son 100e but pour Manchester United (14e).Le match semblait perdu pour Chelsea, surtout après le deuxième but signé Casemiro (37e), mais le milieu brésilien a trouvé moyen de se faire expulser (45e+5) et de relancer le match.Chelsea a initié une remontée sur une tête de Trevoh Chalobah (80e), sans lendemain.La deuxième victoire de la saison est bienvenue pour Amorim et ses joueurs, sèchement battus 3-0 le week-end dernier par Manchester City. Ils remontent à la dixième place en attendant les derniers matches du week-end.Mais ce qu’un match gagné “à domicile, c’est tout”, a relativisé l’entraîneur, désireux de “créer une dynamique” vertueuse.- Liverpool, 5 sur 5 -Les “Reds” de Liverpool, eux, trônent au sommet du classement avec cinq victoires en cinq matches, et cinq points d’avance sur Tottenham (2e, 10 pts), devenu dauphin en attendant le déplacement de Manchester City dimanche à Arsenal (3e, 9 pts).Le bilan comptable est excellent, le moral est au plus haut et, pourtant, “il a fallu se battre jusqu’à la dernière minute”, a reconnu l’attaquant français Hugo Ekitiké, titularisé à la place d’Alexander Isak.L’avant-centre de 23 ans s’est mis en valeur avec des décrochages permanents, un bon repli défensif et son troisième but en Premier League, via un tir passé entre les jambes de Jordan Pickford (29e, 2-0).Son passeur, Ryan Gravenberch, a ouvert le score de belle manière en prolongeant, après un rebond, un centre de Mohamed Salah parfaitement dosé au-dessus de la défense (11e, 1-0).La seconde période a été moins aboutie pour Liverpool, qui jouait son troisième match en sept jours. Everton a réduit l’écart sur un joli tir d’Idrissa Gueye (58e, 2-1) et poussé jusqu’au bout, sans succès.”Nous avons manqué un peu d’énergie, mais nous n’avons pas manqué de mentalité”, a résumé l’entraîneur Arne Slot.- West Ham, défilé et sifflets -La vie du Néerlandais est bien plus tranquille que celles de Graham Potter et Vitor Pereira, ses homologues de West Ham (18e, 3 pts) et Wolverhampton (20e, 0 pt), relégables.Les “Wolves” (Loups) ne mordent plus personne. Samedi contre Leeds (1-3), un promu, ils ont encaissé une cinquième défaite en autant de matches, après avoir pourtant ouvert le score à la huitième minute.West Ham a aussi fini son match sous les sifflets, dans un London Stadium vidé d’une partie de son public, écoeuré par la défaite 2-1 subie contre Crystal Palace.Le troisième revers en trois matches à domicile pourrait sceller le sort de Potter, dans un contexte de défiance entre les dirigeants et les supporters.”C’est difficile, les résultats ne sont pas du tout ceux que nous souhaitons”, a réagi l’ancien entraîneur de Chelsea, arrivé en janvier. “Nous devons rester soudés et trouver une solution”.Tout va pour le mieux en revanche pour Crystal Palace et son attaquant français Jean-Philippe Mateta, encore buteur samedi. L’équipe de la banlieue sud de Londres est quatrième avec neuf points.Tottenham a lui conservé sa place sur le podium, du moins provisoirement, en remontant un handicap de deux buts à Brighton (2-2).Mené après deux minutes, Nottingham Forest a également évité le pire contre Burnley (1-1).

White House says $100,000 H-1B visa fee to be one-time payment

The White House issued a major clarification Saturday to its new H-1B visa policy that had rattled the tech industry, saying a $100,000 fee will be a “one-time” payment imposed only on new applicants.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in announcing the major fee increase on Friday, said it would be paid annually, and would apply to people seeking a new visa as well as renewals.But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a clarification on Saturday, hours before the new policy was to go into effect.”This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies… only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders,” she said in a social media post. The executive order, which is likely to face legal challenges, comes into force Sunday at 12:01 am US Eastern time (0401 GMT), or 9:01 pm Saturday on the Pacific Coast.Prior to the White House’s clarification, US companies were scrambling to figure out the implications for their foreign workers, with several reportedly warning their employees not to leave the country.Some people who were already on planes preparing to leave the country on Friday de-boarded over fears they may not be allowed to re-enter the United States, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.”Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” Leavitt said.”H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would,” she added.H-1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialized skills — such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers — to work in the United States, initially for three years but extendable to six.Such visas are widely used by the tech industry. Indian nationals account for nearly three-quarters of the permits allotted via lottery system each year.The United States approved approximately 400,000 H-1B visas in 2024, two-thirds of which were renewals.- India, US business concerns -US President Donald Trump announced the change in Washington on Friday, arguing it would support American workers.The H-1B program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” the executive order said.Trump also introduced a $1 million “gold card” residency program he had previewed months earlier.”The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in, and they’re going to be paying,” Trump told reporters as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.Lutnick, who joined Trump in the Oval Office, said multiple times that the fee would be applied annually.”The company needs to decide… is the person valuable enough to have $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home and they should go hire an American,” he told reporters.Though he claimed that “all the big companies are on board,” many businesses were left confused about the details of the H-1B order.US bank JPMorgan confirmed that a memo had been sent to its employees with H-1B visas advising them to remain in the United States and avoid international travel until further guidance was issued.Tech entrepreneurs — including Trump’s former ally Elon Musk — have warned against targeting H-1B visas, saying that the United States does not have enough homegrown talent to fill important tech sector job vacancies.India’s foreign ministry said the mobility of skilled talent had contributed to “innovation” and “wealth creation” in both countries and that it would assess the changes.It said in a statement the new measure would likely have “humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families,” which it hoped would be addressed by US authorities.

White House says $100,000 H-1B visa fee to be one-time payment

The White House issued a major clarification Saturday to its new H-1B visa policy that had rattled the tech industry, saying a $100,000 fee will be a “one-time” payment imposed only on new applicants.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in announcing the major fee increase on Friday, said it would be paid annually, and would apply to people seeking a new visa as well as renewals.But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a clarification on Saturday, hours before the new policy was to go into effect.”This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies… only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders,” she said in a social media post. The executive order, which is likely to face legal challenges, comes into force Sunday at 12:01 am US Eastern time (0401 GMT), or 9:01 pm Saturday on the Pacific Coast.Prior to the White House’s clarification, US companies were scrambling to figure out the implications for their foreign workers, with several reportedly warning their employees not to leave the country.Some people who were already on planes preparing to leave the country on Friday de-boarded over fears they may not be allowed to re-enter the United States, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.”Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” Leavitt said.”H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would,” she added.H-1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialized skills — such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers — to work in the United States, initially for three years but extendable to six.Such visas are widely used by the tech industry. Indian nationals account for nearly three-quarters of the permits allotted via lottery system each year.The United States approved approximately 400,000 H-1B visas in 2024, two-thirds of which were renewals.- India, US business concerns -US President Donald Trump announced the change in Washington on Friday, arguing it would support American workers.The H-1B program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” the executive order said.Trump also introduced a $1 million “gold card” residency program he had previewed months earlier.”The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in, and they’re going to be paying,” Trump told reporters as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.Lutnick, who joined Trump in the Oval Office, said multiple times that the fee would be applied annually.”The company needs to decide… is the person valuable enough to have $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home and they should go hire an American,” he told reporters.Though he claimed that “all the big companies are on board,” many businesses were left confused about the details of the H-1B order.US bank JPMorgan confirmed that a memo had been sent to its employees with H-1B visas advising them to remain in the United States and avoid international travel until further guidance was issued.Tech entrepreneurs — including Trump’s former ally Elon Musk — have warned against targeting H-1B visas, saying that the United States does not have enough homegrown talent to fill important tech sector job vacancies.India’s foreign ministry said the mobility of skilled talent had contributed to “innovation” and “wealth creation” in both countries and that it would assess the changes.It said in a statement the new measure would likely have “humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families,” which it hoped would be addressed by US authorities.

White House says $100,000 H-1B visa fee to be one-time payment

The White House issued a major clarification Saturday to its new H-1B visa policy that had rattled the tech industry, saying a $100,000 fee will be a “one-time” payment imposed only on new applicants.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in announcing the major fee increase on Friday, said it would be paid annually, and would apply to people seeking a new visa as well as renewals.But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a clarification on Saturday, hours before the new policy was to go into effect.”This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies… only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders,” she said in a social media post. The executive order, which is likely to face legal challenges, comes into force Sunday at 12:01 am US Eastern time (0401 GMT), or 9:01 pm Saturday on the Pacific Coast.Prior to the White House’s clarification, US companies were scrambling to figure out the implications for their foreign workers, with several reportedly warning their employees not to leave the country.Some people who were already on planes preparing to leave the country on Friday de-boarded over fears they may not be allowed to re-enter the United States, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.”Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” Leavitt said.”H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would,” she added.H-1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialized skills — such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers — to work in the United States, initially for three years but extendable to six.Such visas are widely used by the tech industry. Indian nationals account for nearly three-quarters of the permits allotted via lottery system each year.The United States approved approximately 400,000 H-1B visas in 2024, two-thirds of which were renewals.- India, US business concerns -US President Donald Trump announced the change in Washington on Friday, arguing it would support American workers.The H-1B program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” the executive order said.Trump also introduced a $1 million “gold card” residency program he had previewed months earlier.”The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in, and they’re going to be paying,” Trump told reporters as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.Lutnick, who joined Trump in the Oval Office, said multiple times that the fee would be applied annually.”The company needs to decide… is the person valuable enough to have $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home and they should go hire an American,” he told reporters.Though he claimed that “all the big companies are on board,” many businesses were left confused about the details of the H-1B order.US bank JPMorgan confirmed that a memo had been sent to its employees with H-1B visas advising them to remain in the United States and avoid international travel until further guidance was issued.Tech entrepreneurs — including Trump’s former ally Elon Musk — have warned against targeting H-1B visas, saying that the United States does not have enough homegrown talent to fill important tech sector job vacancies.India’s foreign ministry said the mobility of skilled talent had contributed to “innovation” and “wealth creation” in both countries and that it would assess the changes.It said in a statement the new measure would likely have “humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families,” which it hoped would be addressed by US authorities.