2023-10-17 11:00:08
The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, in Paris, October 16, 2023. JULIEN MUGUET FOR “LE MONDE”
“Supply policy works”, repeats the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, whenever he has the opportunity, as during the social conference, Monday October 16. The proof ? Tax revenues have never been as dynamic as since taxes were lowered. Measuring the effect of the tax cuts passed since 2017 on investment and job creation, however, remains as difficult as ever for economists.
For the fifth consecutive year, those from France Stratégie, an organization attached to Matignon which brings together academics, deputies, representatives of INSEE, the Treasury, and even social partners, studied the effects of some of the most important tax measures. emblematic measures adopted since 2017: the reform of capital taxation with the creation of the “flat tax” (the single flat-rate levy), which limits the taxation of financial income to 30%, the transformation of the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) in real estate wealth tax (IFI), and finally the reduction in the corporate tax rate, reduced from 33% to 25%.
With a conclusion formulated almost in the same terms every year: it is impossible to scientifically establish that these reforms had an effect on investment and job creation. On the other hand, the latest version of the study shows that they have encouraged the creation of businesses, and confirms an effect on the return to France of the wealthiest taxpayers. “We have more data than in previous years, and this data confirms our conclusionsnotes Cédric Audenis, deputy commissioner of France Stratégie. It is a real result to see that they are not contradicted. »
More favorable image of the country
Thus, these reforms, which were intended in particular to encourage investment in businesses, have instead led to an increase in dividends paid, for the benefit of a population which remains very limited (1% of tax households account for 96% of dividends declared). Dividends declared for 2018 to 2020 have, in fact, reached around 23 billion euros, compared to 14 billion from 2013 to 2017. « If there are more dividends, it is not because of the “flat tax” but because of a general context more favorable to businesses”tempers Bercy, who emphasizes at the same time that this reform has “self-financed, since the reduction in taxation was offset by an increase in the base”. Likewise, the transformation of the ISF into an IFI has not, at this stage, encouraged wealthy taxpayers to redirect their savings towards businesses rather than real estate – which was also one of its objectives .
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