Is taxation in France too high? Does personal taxation have a dissuasive effect? Do taxes on businesses harm competitiveness? Are local taxes too high? Is indirect taxation as painless as is sometimes argued? Is the French system of taxation too complicated? How can social justice and economic effectiveness be reconciled? What sort of fiscal system should be developed within the European and global context?

By examining such major questions, which are often controversial, the author unravels the complexities of the French fiscal system for the general reader.

The goal of the books in the “Débat public” series is to provide readers with facts, arguments and an awareness of the issues at stake, so that they can engage in informed debate about a variety of major social and economic issues in contemporary France. Other books in the series have covered such topics as education, religion and the State, immigration, and France's social model.

Each subject is examined through the prism of a hundred very specific, thematically organised questions dealing with every aspect of a given subject. The information and answers provided are based on up-to-date, in-depth studies.

Jacques Lecacheux teaches at the Universities of Pau and of Les Pays de l'Adour. He is the director of the research department of the Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).