The French Government will not raise taxes on households to cut the public deficit, according to what the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, said this Monday, coinciding with the start of talks with political parties to bring closer positions on the budget for 2025.
The Minister of Economy, Eric Lombarda round of discussions begins today, starting with the Socialist Party and the centrist MoDem, which will continue in the coming days with other formations, looking for common points to try to forge a budget.
The government objective is to achieve the maximum possible consensus on public accounts that correct the growing deficit, which according to the latest forecasts would have closed 2024 at around 6.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Executive framed the discussion taking advantage of an interview with De Montchalin published today by ‘Le Parisien’, and in which he presented the objective that the deficit “not significantly exceed 5%” with a view to reaching 3% at the latest by 2029. .
The objective is complicated because the Bank of France has lowered its economic growth forecast for this year from 1.2% to 0.9%.
The minister ruled out any tax increase that penalizes middle class households, especially an increase in VAT, and opted to maintain some measures planned by the previous Government such as the increase in taxation for large companies, the buyback of shares by corporations or airline tickets
It also aimed to fight against the abuse of “tax optimization” mechanisms that allow some taxpayers “abusive evasion” their tax obligations.
De Montchalin insisted on urgency, since the new budget must be approved by the beginning of March at the latest. “We need to achieve a commitment and each one must take a step” in that direction, he stressed. “It will not be the ideal budget of a party but that of the country,” he stressed.
#French #Government #raise #taxes #households #reduce #deficit
