国际英语新闻：France raises public deficit for 2010 budget

PARIS, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The French Senate House has passed the finance bill for 2010 Budget on Wednesday night, raising the planned public deficit to 117.6 billion euros (176.7 billion U.S. dollars).

    With 176 favoring votes, the bill increased the 2010 budget deficit by 1.7 billion euros, up from the previous 115.9 billion euros nodded by the National Assembly.

    In September, the government deficit was estimated at a record 8.5 percent of GDP in the budget plan for 2010, however, due to the government's continuous investment in stimulus packages, the gap can be broadened.

    Contentious creation of carbon taxes and reforms to professional taxes are placed in the first part of the bill in spite of oppositions from the Left and public.

    French carbon tax, covering the use of oil, gas and coal, will charge 17 euros for per tonne of emitted carbon dioxide. It is expected raise the price of fuel oil by 4.5 eurocents per liter and that of petrol by 4 eurocents per liter.

    As both congress houses have passed the bill, France, the first major European economy to tax carbon emission, will implement the levy from next January.

    The professional tax, a regional tax charged by local communities and organizations, will be replaced by a new tax named as regional economic contribution (CET). Local beneficiaries have expressed negative reactions to the reform.