Wealth tax raises more than expected

France's wealth tax, the impôt de solidarité sur la fortune has brought in €400m more to the state coffers than predicted.

For 2010 the tax, which is levied on personal wealth rather than income, raised €4.5bn.

The government has already raised its predictions once at the end of 2010, but still saw them exceeded.

A treasury source told newspaper Les Echos that the rise was due to 'exceptional receipts'.

The impôt de solidarité sur la fortune, ISF, raised €3.6bn in 2009 and €4.2bn in 2008, according to Les Echos.

The paper described the rise as "good news for public finances" and an indication of economic recovery at the top end of the housing and finance markets.

Wealth tax, along with France's tax cap the bouclier fiscal will be under scrutiny this year as France looks to reform its tax system, bringing it closer in line with Germany.

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