The Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, justified his rejection by ensuring that this measure “would also surcharge companies which had nothing to do with the current situation” of flambée in energy prices.
mo12345lemonde with AFP
The Senate, dominated by the right -wing opposition, rejected the taxation of superprofits on Saturday November 19. He refused the amendments of the left and centrists, who planned to impose the exceptional profits of large companies, against the opinion of the government.
The senators rejected an amendment from the left by 181 votes to 97 and another presented by the centrists on a tighter result of 181 votes against 152, during the examination at first reading of the finance bill for 2023. The left relaunched in the Senate the debate on this controversial subject, after the decision of the Constitutional Council which had buried its hopes of obtaining a referendum on the “taxation of superprofits”.
During the debate, the communist senator Eric Bocquet denounced a government which “refuses to go and seek superprofits”. “To refuse this exceptional contribution is a bad message sent to the French,” said the senator of the centrist group Bernard Delcros. In his response, the Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, justified his rejection by ensuring that this measure “would also surcharge companies that have had nothing to do with the current situation” of flambée in energy prices .
The Senate had already rejected this summer the idea of a tax of superprofits or exceptional benefits of large groups, after another combined offensive of the left and centrists.
Brussels claims a “contribution temporary solidarity “
The presidential majority, after cracks that appeared on the issue, seems to have stored behind the government’s position, for whom the solution was found: this is the agreement concluded on September 30 between Member States of the European Union.
The European Commission explained then that it wanted to claim a “temporary solidarity contribution” from producers and distributors of gas, coal and petroleum, who make massive profits thanks to the outbreak of the war in the war in Ukraine.
It must be set at 33 % of the share of superprofits of 2022, that is to say higher profits of more than 20 % to the average of the years 2019-2021, while taking into account the measures taken by States already taxing these benefits. France transposes in its 2023 budget this European agreement, which, according to Mr. Attal, must bring back “11 billion euros” to the State.
The Commission has taken care not to use the word “tax”, because any new tax provision on a European scale would have required the unanimity of the twenty-seven, more complicated and risky procedure than an adoption by majority qualified.