France's Constitutional Council approved on Sunday the government's controversial 'millionaire tax', to be levied on companies that pay salaries of more than 1 million euros (837 thousand pounds) a year:

• the tax will be a 50 percent levy on the portion of wages above 1 million euros in 2013 and 2014
• It will be levied on companies, not the individual
• Including social contributions, the rate will effectively remain about 75 percent, though the tax will be capped at 5 percent of a company's turnover

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