Posted Nov 9, 2022, 4:18 PMUpdated Nov. 9, 2022, 4:44 p.m.
Change of atmosphere. After two days of debate, the amending finance bill (PLFR) for 2022 was adopted Tuesday night. Two very different days from what the parliamentary contests around the draft budget for 2023 had looked like in October: the stormy atmosphere gave way to a calmer climate, where certain opposition groups succeeded in getting several of their proposals.
It must be said that the Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, and the General Rapporteur for the Budget, Jean-René Cazeneuve, had spent part of their weekend on the telephone with their managers to probe them on their requests. “This illustrates our method of compromise, and the oppositions are not dissatisfied with it to avoid the tensions which the motions of censure give rise to”, judges the deputy of Gers.
Detailed review of the main new features adopted at the Meeting :
A check for wood heating
This summer, in the purchasing power package, the government had released 230 million euros to help households heating with fuel oil, on the proposal of LR. Bis repeated or almost, this time in favor of the 3.4 million French people heating with wood, whether logs or pellets, these cylindrical sticks whose prices have doubled in one year. The executive reached out to the opposition – which all more or less demanded the measure – by supporting an amendment from the PS. The amount released was aligned with that of this summer.
Boost for food aid
The Socialists also won their case on the strengthening of credits allocated to associations working on food aid. In all, these are 40 million additional so that they can “cope with the sharp increase in their energy expenditure and the increase in the number of their beneficiaries in the current context of crisis”, estimated between 200,000 and 400,000 additional people, according to the amendment adopted.
Still on the left, an amendment by LFI and Eric Coquerel was also voted, which allocates aid of 8 million to municipalities to help them better pay the staff of their municipal health centers.
Improvements to MaPrimeRénov’
The Republicans won their case on MaPrimeRénov ‘. “The current system is a bitter failure, as confirmed by the report of the Court of Auditors which teaches us that in 2021, only 2,500 homes have changed energy performance, while the objective was to renovate 80,000 thermal strainers”, have pointed to right-wing MPs. They obtained an increase of 29 million of this aid, the maximum possible taking into account the rules on the amendments of appropriations. “But the necessary additional effort that the State should devote to supporting the thermal renovation of housing should ideally amount to 2 billion euros”, underlines the LR group.
Doubling of the land deficit chargeable to income
The right-wing elected officials also won a victory in favor of owners who undertake energy renovation work in order to get a rented property out of the status of “thermal sieve”. The land deficit attributable to their overall income will be doubled. The deficit is formed when the charges, in particular the cost of works, exceed the property income (rent). Today he can reduce the tax within the limit of 10,700 euros.
The objective is to encourage lessors to carry out repair and maintenance work, in order to avoid an attrition of the rental supply linked to the obligations of the Climate and Resilience law: this provides for the prohibition of renting a dwelling whose energy performance diagnosis is classified G in 2025 and F in 2028.
A tax notice with more information
Another LR proposal aimed at improving taxpayer information was adopted, with majority support. This is to include in the income tax notice the marginal rate, in other words the rate paid (0%, 11%, 30%, 41% or 45%) by a household on the share of income which fall within the highest bracket of the scale. Today, only the average rate paid appears. This addition will allow a household to know the tax cost of an investment without having to calculate it themselves.
Means for arming Ukrainians
If the government has given some pledges to the opposition, it has not completely forgotten the majority either. In particular, it was decided to increase the means allocated to Ukraine for military equipment. The PLFR already provided for a fund of 100 million for this purpose and on the proposal of Benjamin Haddad (Renaissance), the amount was doubled.