Gabriel et al do not rule out taxing the wealthiest, but “being told what to do” – Liberation

Tax the rich and super-profits more? “I have no disagreement on the subject”. Surprise: With this short sentence, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal opened the door on the set of TF1 this Wednesday, March 27 at 8 p.m. which until now seemed taboo: tax increases for wealthy taxpayers or businesses too profitable. The Gulf announced a public deficit reaching 5.5% of GDP in 2023. As well as the record superprofit of 2023, when the largest CAC 40 companies earned a cumulative profit of 146 billion.

dogma of “Don’t raise taxes”, Released by Emmanuel Macron and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, no longer seems so infallible, as evidenced by some voices speaking in the majority for several weeks.

Gabriel Attal also emphasized that, yes, the government has already overtaxed some very profitable companies. This is the case of the oil groups that enriched themselves with the tariff shield and that were taken from the extraordinary contribution that was estimated at 600 million euros – an earnings compared to their profits, as underlined by the Court of Auditors last week. “We can reform this tax to get more profit from energy companies,” The Prime Minister accepted. He also cited the case of laboratories that profited from numerous Covid tests during the pandemic, which he “(…) assumed to collect”.

“Don’t raise taxes on the French middle classes”

Will it go further? In order to raise taxes on the wealthiest or super-profits, the Prime Minister set a series of conditions. “I have two red lines: French people who work all their lives and who always earn a little too much to help, but don’t raise taxes on the middle class of French people who are not able to get by enough. . . all alone. “, Do not touch “That allows us to finance the work of the French”.

How to proceed? “Someone let me make credible proposals,” Asked the Prime Minister with astonishment: “Someone tell me what to do!” Who is he talking to? He mentioned the need for a consultative mechanism involving social partners and elected officials. When noted that it is “Politically Easy” To point the finger at the richest, while France is the country with the highest marginal tax rate on income. And one limitation: not to overtax businesses overall because “They are the ones who create the jobs”.