Posted Jul 26, 2022, 4:47 PM
After the National Assembly, the examination of the purchasing power bill began in the Senate. On Monday, four committees, including those of Social Affairs and those of Finance, looked into this package of measures intended to protect the French against high inflation. The senators, mostly on the right, have already amended several articles. In particular, they restricted the conditions for perpetuating the purchasing power bonus (“Macron bonus”). From 2024, this can no longer be paid in companies with more than 50 employees.
In the text voted on at the Assembly, the bonus ceiling was increased from 1,000 euros to 3,000 euros (or 6,000 euros in the event of a profit-sharing agreement), exempt from income tax, contributions and contributions benefits, for employees earning up to three times the minimum wage until the end of 2023. It was planned to make it permanent from 2024, under the name of “value sharing bonus”, in l exempt only from social security contributions.
” A risk “
According to the rapporteur for the Social Affairs Committee, Frédérique Puissat (LR), there was a risk that the “Macron bonus” would become “a fully-fledged element of wage policy”. The senators also want the evaluation report to be carried out in 2024 to analyze the substitution effects of salary increases.
On the same subject, another Senate amendment aims to authorize companies to pay the premium in several instalments, up to four payments in the year.
Another important point for the Upper House: employers’ contributions on overtime. Temporary relief has been adopted for hours worked between October 1 and December 31, 2023, the amount to be set by decree. “It is a question of limiting the additional cost for employers associated with these overtime hours”, indicated Frédérique Puissat.
The amendment is thought of as “the necessary complement” to the tax measures in favor of overtime adopted in the National Assembly as part of the collective budget. On Friday, the deputies approved the increase in the tax exemption ceiling for overtime from 5,000 euros to 7,500 euros for 2022.
Employee savings
The senators also voted the possibility of unlocking employee savings in advance until December 31, 2022, within a limit of 10,000 euros, and excluding collective retirement savings plans (Perco). The released funds will be exempt from income tax and social security contributions.
A relaxation of the rules for the use of meal vouchers to allow the purchase of “any food product, whether or not directly consumable” was also supported by the senators.