- The Minister of Action and Public Accounts presented on Tuesday the results of the first year of the withholding tax on income.
- Gérald Darmanin highlighted the success of the reform thanks to the good tax revenues (71.7 billion euros) and the high recovery rate observed (99.1%).
- At the same time, the largest union in the public finance sector, Solidaires, is alerting to job cuts and the deterioration of working conditions.
End of the first act… This is how the Minister of Action and Public Accounts could almost have concluded his press conference on Tuesday morning. Gérald Darmanin presented the balance sheet of the withholding tax one year after its entry into force.
If the income tax revenue for the year 2019 is 900 million euros lower than the last forecasts of the fall (71.7 billion euros against 72.6 billion), this first exercise seems to have exceeded expectations of the Minister. A positive vision that the latter extended to the entire implementation of the new sampling system.
A predictable increase in revenue?
With a recovery rate of 99.1%, success seems to be there for this first version of the withholding tax. "This shows that the levy makes it possible to make tax pay to actors who could forget it or defraud it," estimates Dominique Plihon, economist and member of the scientific council of Attac. Often described as a national sport, fraud would therefore have found a real obstacle. As proof, Gérald Darmanin highlights the good figures of tax receipts: “They are better than the initial forecasts of the finance law, which were 70.4 billion euros. "
A progression that Vincent Drezet, national secretary of the Solidaires finances publics union, wants to balance: “The tax base progresses mechanically by 1.5 billion euros per year. French taxation having had a white year, the result of 2019 would therefore not be so surprising. He adds: “The exceptional income for 2018 was still taxed, so the revenue is not based on a single year. "Finally, the unionist would like to recall that the figures announced by Gérald Darmanin are still only forecasts:" We must wait for the arrival of tax notices this summer to be able to confirm them. "
The French welcomed the withholding tax
The Minister of Action and Public Accounts also welcomed the support of taxpayers for the reform. In addition to the high recovery rate, as we have said, the Minister did not fail to recall that the reform is one of the most popular of the five-year period, according to an IFOP survey dating from 2018. Proof of the good acceptance of the system by the French, they are 1.4 million to have revised their rate over the year, a possible maneuver in the event of income variation. Admittedly, this forced the State to revise the amount of its revenues (the rates were lowered more than upward - 1 million homes against 820,000 -), but Gérald Darmanin highlights the interest in the taxpayer: "The French took advantage of the withholding tax to make cash. This kills the argument of those who said that it is the state that would do it on the backs of taxpayers. "
Vincent Drezet confirms the welcome of the reform to taxpayers: “On average, it went well for them. For companies too, even if many, especially small ones, have not yet had the time to set it up, or to understand it well. "Points could be improved:" We should have done a little more education on the tax rate. Many do not understand their own, or do not know that they are at the neutral rate and that it is not final. Nor do people always know how to grasp the situation when their lives change. "
The economist Dominique Plihon prefers to wait: “It is only the establishment, there are still issues to be resolved, such as donations to associations, for example. Let us wait until the withholding tax takes its cruising speed. "
An ever increasing workload in Bercy
After having, precisely, approached the case of tax deductions for donations and the tax credit, the Minister succinctly confirmed the future abolition of 10,000 positions in the tax administration. A subject that worries Dominique Plihon: “Faced with the complexity of the system, this may not be the best idea. "Vincent Drezet is much more vindictive:" It goes against the idea of public service that the minister touts. 25,000 jobs have already been cut since 2008, while the number of companies subject to corporate tax has increased by 54.5%. The workload continues to increase, especially at the Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP). "
However, the first year of the withholding tax went well, according to Gérald Darmanin. "It is going generally well because it has been preparing since the previous five years. And because the teams are doing their job. But the agents of the DGFiP are facing ever more reforms, CICE, withholding tax, local taxes… ”, answers the trade unionist. Behind the "optimistic and simplifying discourse given to the public", there would therefore be, according to him, "the complexity and the workload".
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- Economy
- taxes
- Income tax return
- Gérald Darmanin