USGS releases first study to assess global earthquake risk to mineral supplies
Earthquakes have the potential to substantially affect mining operations, leading to supply chain disruptions that adversely affect the global economy.
Following a couple of weeks of public uproar after the French government said it was going to scrap a wealth tax that applies to personal assets of more than $1.5 million, President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced that the 2018 budget will be amended to include a tax on luxury yachts, supercars and precious metals.
Macron, a former Rothschild banker, has been trying to shake off the label of “president of the rich,” but the September proposal of replacing the tax on high-end assets such as jewellery with just a real estate tax didn’t help his cause.
Even though Macron’s cabinet says the levy has driven 10,000 people with about $41 billion in capital abroad in the past 15 years, the wealth tax has been understood by many as a symbol of social justice since it was introduced in the 1980s.
The whole situation around the levy not only took a toll on the President’s popularity, but it is also expected to be a hot topic in the media this Tuesday, during a planned nationwide strike by public workers.
France’s 2018 budget bill is due to be studied by parliament’s finance commission this week.
