Public deficit, social VAT, CVAE… The president of Medef believes that France should make savings “in the right place”.

He steps up to the plate and denounces the government. “We are worried by what we hear here and there,” Patrick Martin, president of the Movement of Companies of France (MADEF), said this Sunday, facing the risk of seeing tax cuts benefiting companies called into question for budget reasons. . “Economic activity is slowing down,” he remarked. “The increasing deficit is a definite reflection of the economic slowdown. »

“CVAE (contribution on value added of businesses) was to be completely abolished in 2023. Then we were told that this would be spread over 2023-2024. Then it will slowly die by 2027,” recalled the leader in an interview with the Sunday Journal. According to him, the “further questioning” of the timetable for removing these taxes “will undermine the confidence we can place in the state’s words”.

“Watch for Savings”

For that, France must “seek savings”, but do so “in the right place”. Patrick Martin argued that “it has to be said on the operating costs of public works.” Likewise, the president of Meddef called for “dealing with this problem of public finances that has been worsening for decades”, but moving away from “classic logic”. “Budgetary Annuity” “

After presenting a public deficit of 5.5% of gross domestic product for 2023 this Tuesday, higher than the 4.9% initially planned, the government is looking for ways to save. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire ruled out any tax increases earlier in the week, also confirming on Tuesday the planned abolition of the CVAE and tax cuts for certain households. The minister then assured in an interview with Oist-France on Saturday that he would not touch the treatment of long-term illnesses but mentioned a new form of contract for workers over 55.

CPME, another employers’ organisation, this Thursday described the government’s willingness not to raise taxes as “positive”, and expressed hope that a commitment to fully abolish the CVAE would be kept by the end of the five-year period. “Challenging the removal of CVAE, which has a large weight on the industry, will increase the risk of exit compared to our competitors,” Patrick Martin said again this Sunday.

The possibility of a social VAT was also questioned, which would make it possible to transfer part of the charge on wages to VAT, Patrick Martin does not consider this solution to be effective in restarting the economy. “French companies still bear 60 billion more in production taxes and the same in social charges as the average European company. If we want to be competitive and attractive, we have to deal with this,” he said. “It is totally illogical and even unfair that companies and therefore their employees bear most of the cost of French social production.”