France's super-rich hit with 3% tax increase

FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy's latest attempt to steer the country through a debt crisis with a €11bn (£9.7bn) austerity package includes a tax rise for the super-rich.

Sarkozy (pictured) has set out a 3% tax increase on those earning more than €500,000 a year.

The announcement comes on the same day that 16 French multi-millionaires signed a petition that they would be happy to make a "special contribution" to fight the budget deficit, The Times reports.

The heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics group, Liliane Bettencourt, was among the business figures who volunteered to pay more tax to retain confidence in the country's financial markets.

According to a previous KPMG report, France would still sit outside the top-10 highest tax rates in Europe.

Sweden has the highest rate of income tax at 56.6%, Denmark 55.4%, Netherlands 52% and the UK 50%, tied with Belgium, Austria and Finland.

Other French austerity measures include a hike in the prices of cigarettes and alcohol, with tobacco products likely to go up 6%.