“Very limited” tax increases: this is what the Minister of the Economy, Eric Lombard, promised the French between Christmas and the 1st of the year. A month earlier, his predecessor, Antoine Armand, warned against “taxing too much”. From one government to another, the “consultations” of the forces in Parliament seem to start on the same bases: how to increase – once again – compulsory deductions equivalent to 45.6% of GDP in 2023, a record for the area euro according to Eurostat, in the hope of completing a budget which would at the same time avoid the censure of the Assembly, the wrath of Brussels and the blame of the rating agencies?
We know the deleterious effects that the combined fiscal pressure and uncertainty have on consumption – it has not returned, in France, to its pre-Covid levels – and on household savings – which is reaching new heights. . We question less often the impact of taxes on employee involvement and their career development. However, notes Laurent Cappelletti, professor at Cnam and specialist in the labor market, “the managerial abstentionism which tends to spread in companies, public and private, has something to do with taxation”.
The entire dynamic of the economy is affected
What’s the point of becoming a chef if the associated remuneration, after withholding tax, is not stimulating enough? “On average, employer contributions are 42%”, continues Laurent Cappelletti. For salaries below 1.6 minimum wage, they are half as much: this is a huge gap. France adopted this strategy in the 1990s to fight against unemployment of low-skilled employees, without us knowing if it has borne fruit since it has never been evaluated… What is certain, on the other hand, is that a boss of SME or TPE, very attentive to visible costs, is now thinking twice before offering an employee the opportunity to become a front-line manager and passing the 3,000 euros per month mark.”
Professor of economics at HEC and general manager of Lazard Frères Banque, Olivier Klein doesn’t say anything else: “Too many compulsory contributions discourage entrepreneurship, risk-taking and responsibility, and lead to a lack of competitiveness of businesses. In In short, the entire dynamic of the economy is affected. Far from the fiscal vocalizations of our political leaders.