The government is still looking for solutions to relieve Bercy. A mission from the majority will make “by June” proposals “on the taxation of annuities”, announced Gabriel Attal on Tuesday before the Renaissance group in the National Assembly, according to Matignon, while the opportunity to increase or not taxes to reduce the deficit divides the presidential camp.
“I wanted to entrust a mission to our majority, a mission led by Jean-René Cazeneuve, our budget rapporteur, with a representative from each group” of the majority. “The objective of this mission: to make proposals on the taxation of annuities, between now and June,” declared the Prime Minister, according to his remarks reported to AFP by Matignon.
Gabriel Attal also affirmed that “we must assume” a reform of unemployment insurance “to build a stronger country” when several tenors of the “left wing” of the majority expressed their opposition to a reduction in the duration of compensation for job seekers. “It is thanks to employment that we will be able to reduce the country’s debt and re-arm our public services,” he said, arguing that this reform aims to facilitate the return of the unemployed to an activity.
For the mission on “taxation of annuities”, Nadia Hai will represent Renaissance, Jean-Paul Mattei le Modem, and another deputy who has not yet been designated the Horizons group, he said. “We are going to settle this debate together, because we must not suffer, but we must be on the offensive. Control the debates that are rising in public opinion. Make proposals and decide. But above all we must move forward in a coordinated, coherent manner This is the purpose of this mission,” explained the head of government.
The 3% deficit target
Gabriel Attal hoped that “the entire majority would be associated” with this work and that each component would “feed back (its) proposals” to Jean-René Cazeneuve. He reiterated that the government still planned to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP in 2027, despite its unprecedented slippage in 2023 to 5.5%, which could lead to a possible downgrade of the country’s debt rating.
The Prime Minister recalled that next week, the government would give “the trajectory which will allow us to reach 3% in 2027” and that “at the end of June, like every year, we will say how we get there, with the revenue, and therefore the conclusions of this mission, but also with expenditure, and in particular structuring and intelligent economies”.
In general, “it is important to maintain our consistency and not let ourselves be poisoned by opposition which would suggest that we do not have a compass”, underlined the Prime Minister, castigating “the makers of misfortune incapable of taking initiatives”.