Is the 2025 budget close to being concluded by the new government of François Bayrou? Initial measures have been mentioned in recent days, but are likely to evolve as the government has just started discussing with the political forces of the National Assembly and the Senate to try to come up with a “compromise” budget, before the examination of budgetary texts in Parliament. The government, which wants a budgetary effort of some 50 billion euros in 2025, “mainly” through savings, hopes for their adoption “during February”. L’Express takes stock.
Surcharge for large businesses
The executive wants to maintain a form of surcharge on the profits of large companies. “This tax mechanism for large companies was discussed with companies, notably with Medef. It was accepted as a gesture of solidarity. This agreement remains, so we will work on a mechanism […] which would allow us to have revenues of around 8 billion euros in 2025″, as anticipated by the former government, explained Monday the Minister of the Economy and Finance Eric Lombard on France Inter.
Contribution of high incomes
The exceptional contribution on high incomes, which was proposed by the previous government in its draft budget and which was to generate 2 billion euros, will not be “kept as is” for reasons of retroactivity, indicated Eric Lombard. However, he spoke of “possible convergences” with socialists, ecologists and communists on the subject of “tax justice”. “You have (high) income, have you paid the taxes that all other French people pay? If this is not the case, you pay the difference”, launched Monday on France 2 the Minister of Public accounts, Amélie de Montchalin. She said she wanted to fight more against “tax over-optimization” and fraud. The government, on the other hand, has ruled out new or increasing taxes “which would penalize the purchasing power of the middle class”, thus ruling out an increase in VAT.
Eric Lombard also assured for his part that the government’s new draft budget would provide for the indexation of the income tax scale to inflation. “The French who do not pay income taxes today will not pay any tomorrow,” he assured in La Tribune Sunday. In the absence of a budget for 2025, this increase in the scale could not be implemented on January 1. But the French will not pay more taxes, and 600,000 who are not currently subject to them, according to Bercy, will only start paying them if France remains without a budget when the income tax declaration is filed in the spring. The withholding tax rate is updated in September.
Flat tax
Eric Lombard plans to increase the single flat tax on capital income, currently 30%. “This is one of the subjects that are on the table. No decision has been taken one way or the other,” he declared on France Inter.
Support for farmers
The government also listed, in a press release published on December 31, a series of tax measures that it would like to see applied retroactively to January 1, 2025, without prejudging their adoption by Parliament. These include support mechanisms for farms, particularly during the transfer of farms for the benefit of young farmers or the incentive system for increasing the cattle herd.
Civil service and pensions
Will the increase from one to three days in the waiting period for sick civil servants, desired by the Barnier government, be maintained? “All options must be put back on the table and re-examined,” indicated the Minister of the Civil Service, Laurent Marcangeli, in La Tribune Sunday.
Furthermore, as part of discussions with political forces on the state budget, the government made “a proposal for modification, evolution of the contested reform” of 2023 pensions, the group’s president said on Monday. socialist in the Senate, Patrick Kanner. François Bayrou proposed in December to the political forces to reopen a discussion, for nine months, on the reform, without suspending it. He said he believed that there could be another solution for their financing than postponing the age from 62 to 64, referring to a “points” system.
In addition to the State budget, five ministers including Catherine Vautrin (Labor and Health) and Amélie de Montchalin will receive the presidents of the parliamentary groups from this Tuesday to try to “co-construct” the 2025 Social Security budget (PLFSS). ).