"Above 1m euros [£847,000; $1.3m], the tax rate should be 75% because it's not possible to have that level of income," he said.

Speaking on prime time TV, he promised that if elected, he would undo tax breaks enacted by Nicolas Sarkozy.

The tax proposal was condemned by his political opponents.

Opinion polls suggest the gap between the Socialist candidate and Mr Sarkozy has narrowed.

The two are tipped to reach the run-off on 6 May, after eliminating other rivals on 22 April.

Taxation for the rich has become a hot campaign issue, with tax advisers in neighbouring Switzerland saying that higher taxes for the wealthy in France could spark an exodus, Reuters news agency reports.

Many of France's richest celebrities already live abroad.

The French right-of-centre newspaper Le Figaro reports that Mr Hollande's announcement on the TF1 channel appeared to take party colleagues by surprise.

Jerome Cahuzac, responsible for budgetary affairs on Mr Hollande's campaign team, was questioned about the 75% rate on another channel, France 2, just minutes afterwards.

"You are asking me about a declaration which, for my part, I haven't heard," he said.

Mr Hollande himself renewed his call on Tuesday, saying the 75% rate on people earning more than one million euros a year was "a patriotic act".

"It's a signal that has been sent, a message of social cohesion, there is an effort to be made," he explained.

"It is patriotic to agree to pay a supplementary tax to get the country back on its feet."

Centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou dismissed the idea.

He told another TV channel, BFMTV: "I think it was [French film director Michel] Audiard who used the rather rough phrase: the rubbish-ometer [French: deconnometre] is working overtime."

Ministers from Mr Sarkozy's ruling UMP party also attacked the proposal.

Francois Hollande "invents a new tax every week without ever proposing the smallest saving", said Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse and Foreign Minister Alain Juppe denounced the plan as "fiscal confiscation".

When Mr Sarkozy came to power in 2007, he introduced a "tax shield" that capped tax at 50% of all income.

While acknowledging the last three years have been “tough,” President Obama touted the progress made on his watch during a fundraising reception yesterday at the swanky Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

Addressing a crowd of about 400 at the reception where tickets ranged from $1,000 to $5,000, Obama urged his supporters to “think about everything that we’ve accomplished together.”

Touting healthcare reform, the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the auto bailout, the death of Osama bin Laden, and the recent spike in jobs, Obama told the gathering “that change that you believed in has begun to happen.”

For Obama, the speech was an opportunity to ask his supporters in the Democrat-rich South Florida area for their continued support. His message was to stay just as “involved and engaged and motivated in 2012 as you were in 2008.”

“If you’re willing to keep pushing with me, if you’re willing to keep struggling with me, if you’re continuing to reach out for that vision of America that we all share, I promise you change will come.”

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who introduced Obama at the fundraiser, also implored the crowd to remember the historic 2008 election. She said if the last election was “historic,” this one is “personal.”

After the Biltmore reception, Obama spoke to a more intimate gathering inside the Pinecrest home of veteran Miami power-broker Chris Korge. He also attended a private fundraising dinner at the home of former Orlando Magic star Vince Carter in Windermere, where tickets started at $30,000 a plate. The president was expected to raise more than $3.5 million during the three events.

His foray into Florida–his second this year– wasn’t entirely devoted to fundraising. Earlier in the day, Obama visited the University of Miami, where he talked about energy production. During that speech, Obama hit back at Republicans for politically “licking their chops” over rising gas prices.

“Some politicians always see this as a political opportunity. You’re shocked, I know,” Obama told the crowd of University of Miami students and faculty.

“Only in politics do people greet bad news so enthusiastically. You pay more, and they’re licking their chops?” Obama said. “And you can bet that since it’s an election year, they’re already dusting off their three-point plans for $2 gas.”

Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest carmaker is likely to roll out a global car by 2017, as it strengthens the R&D activities. The company will start working on a global car at its new R&D centre at Rohtak. The company will develop the car with some assistance from parent Suzuki Motor Corp, targeting the European and Japanese markets. The global car will be developed mainly by Indian engineers.

The car will be powered by an 800cc engine and will be positioned along with the company's current best seller 'Alto'. MSI is spending up to Rs 1,500 crore to set up a R&D centre at Rohtak, which will be SMC's only such significant centre outside Japan, to scale up its vehicle development programme and become self-reliant.

In the past, MSI engineers had participated in the development of global models, which have been introduced in India, such as Swift and Ritz. MSI is at present working on an indigenously developed small car for the Indian market that is likely to be launched next year.

source: http://in.finance.yahoo.com