Amending finance bill: what is the tax on superprofits?

Margaux Fodéré, edited by Laura Laplaud 1:35 p.m., August 01, 2022

The amending finance bill arrives in the Senate on Monday.

The debates will undoubtedly be less stormy than those of last week in the National Assembly.

However, an amendment, previously rejected by the deputies, will be discussed again: the taxation of superprofits. 

A “solidarity” contribution

An idea, supported by the left as well as by centrist senators, which plans to levy multinationals that make huge profits like those announced by TotalEnergie last week.

The company more than doubled its second-quarter net profit to $5.7 billion.

The senators therefore propose the establishment of an exceptional "solidarity" contribution on superprofits at 20%, since the objective is to involve large companies to help the French through the crisis of purchasing power.

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In concrete terms, this measure targets groups that have made 20% additional profits in 2021 compared to the average of the previous three years.

In the text, no sector is excluded, be it banking, transport companies or even energy.

The tax would apply to all businesses that made windfall profits last year.

A tax applied in other countries

This tax exists in other countries such as Italy where it was introduced at the end of March at 10%, before being raised to 25% at the end of May.

Unlike the proposal being considered from today in the Senate, the Italian tax only targets energy companies.

In the United Kingdom, a 25% tax was introduced at the end of May.

It must finance a major aid plan for the most modest households, which are going through a severe crisis in the cost of living.

In this country, inflation reached 10% against 6% in France.

Other countries are also considering this type of measure, notably Spain and Germany.