Bernard Arnault, CEO of the world number one luxury LVMH, denounced Tuesday, January 28, the expected increase in taxes on French companies, believing that it is a “tax on made in France” which “pushes to relocation “. “I come back from the USA and I could see the wind of optimism that reigned in this country. And when we come back to France, it’s a bit of a cold shower,” said the one who was seen with his children Delphine , CEO of Dior, and Alexandre, Deputy Managing Director of Moët-Hennessy, among the dozens of guests closest to Donald Trump during the investiture ceremony of the American president.
“In the USA, taxes will drop to 15 %, the workshops are subsidized in a series of states and the president (Trump) encourages this,” praised the leader of the French luxury giant during the presentation of the 2024 results of LVMH . “When you come back to France and see that you are about to increase the taxes of companies that manufacture in France by 40 %, it’s incredible. To push relocation, it’s ideal!” -Al denounced. “It is the taxation of the made in France.”
Bernard Arnault alluded to the corporate tax surcharge, planned, for the largest, in the budget currently in preparation in France for the year 2025. This surcharge should bring some 8 billion euros to the State this State year. For companies achieving more than three billion euros in turnover, as is the case with LVMH, this surcharge would lead to approximately 40 % the rate of corporate tax.
“Bureaucracy …”
However, the government said they wanted to apply it only for a year. “No one believes in it, once we have increased taxes by 40 %, which will lower them by 40 %?”, Juncted Bernard Arnault on the sidelines of the press conference.
“We are strongly asked by the American authorities to continue our establishments (of workshops),” he added, and, “in the current environment, it is something that we look at seriously”. “We proposed other solutions (than this surcharge, note), but obviously the bureaucracy …”, he slipped, without detailing more.
Asked about possible customs taxes imposed by the United States, he replied “prefer not to express themselves and try to act quietly”. After a last year heckled, LVMH announced on Tuesday a fall of 17 % of its annual net profit in 2024, to 12.55 billion euros, and a decline of 2 % of its annual turnover, at 84.7 billions of euros.