The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, in Rome on March 19, 2021. -

Piero Tenagli / IPA / IPA / SIPA

The executive begins to put forward solutions to repay the public debt generated by the health crisis.

The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire thus proposed Monday evening to devote a share of future income from corporate tax to this objective.

"If tomorrow (...) companies return to growth, have additional growth, and therefore corporate tax revenues increase, would it not be effective, would it not Wouldn't it be fair to devote part of the increase in this corporate tax (…) to repaying the Covid debt?

“Asked the minister during a debate on the debt in the National Assembly.

"A fair and efficient solution"

"We have enabled companies to resist this crisis", he justified, thanks to aid mobilized by the State to support them, such as the solidarity fund, loans guaranteed by the State or partial unemployment.

"The companies will give back what they have managed to obtain thanks to the protection of the State", insisted Bruno Le Maire, adding that "it is a fair and effective solution which deserves in any case to be studied" .

The health crisis caused public debt to jump to around 120% of GDP last year, generating an additional € 215 billion in public debt.

A part, 75 billion, concerns social organizations, and must already be confined via the Social Debt Redemption Fund (Cades), and reimbursed thanks to the extension of the CRDS, a levy on wages, according to the existing system for pre-Covid social debt clearance.

Refusal of cancellation

The question of the sustainability of this debt and its repayment is the subject of heated debate, with some economists and elected officials defending its partial cancellation.

Bruno Le Maire again opposed such an idea, deeming it "dangerous" and "unnecessary".

To reimburse her, he repeated his refusal to increase taxes.

On the other hand, it counts on the revival of growth and on "structural reforms", such as that of pensions, for the moment pending.

He also again proposed a reform of the governance of public finances, with the establishment of a multi-year expenditure rule, for example over 5 years.

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  • Debt

  • Bruno the Mayor

  • Public debt

  • Covid 19

  • Economy

  • Coronavirus