Court of Auditors Attacks Home Employment Tax Credit

Tax credits on home employment, particularly those related to gardening, day care or personal assistance services, are systems in high demand by families. According to the Court of Auditors, it represents a significant budget for the state.

On Wednesday March 27, the court published a report stressing the need to review the terms of the tax credit, which is considered too onerous for public finances. She has proposed solutions to reduce the costs associated with this system, insisting that it benefits the wealthy more. “ Consumption of personal services is concentrated in the highest income 20% of households, for whom public assistance is arguably less crucial. », notes the court.

Indeed, it is mostly the affluent households that make the most use of home employment. It is important to emphasize that the main objective of this system is to facilitate childcare in order to encourage parents to return to the job market. Thus, its resolution or amendment may have a negative impact on employment. Additionally, the amount the state pays for personal assistance services has increased 40% since 2012, including 37% last year.

The Court of Auditors wants to tighten the terms of the tax credit

Hence the Court of Auditors suggests two solutions to reduce these costs. It also shows the risk of fraud, which represents a budget of 8.8 billion euros for the state in 2022. Proposed options include allocating tax credits based on activities requested by the beneficiary and their profile to maintain autonomy or childcare-related activities. Another solution is to focus housing assistance exclusively on social policies, even if it negatively affects social benefits for the most disadvantaged.

According to the report, these measures could allow annual savings of 900 million to 1.1 billion euros on the public finance budget. The Court of Auditors also believes that the impact of personal assistance on job creation is too weak and calls for an end to reckless increases in public spending.