A simple "cash advance": the former Minister François de Rugy said Tuesday to have quickly "reimbursed", as of 2014 and 2015, with his personal account, the contributions of elected initially paid using his expenses as a deputy.
According to Le Canard chained to appear Wednesday, François de Rugy has recovered Monday at the agency Credit Cooperative Nantes statements of his bank account dedicated to "compensation representative fees" (IRFM).
These documents show that, in fact, in 2013 and 2014, François de Rugy has made two payments corresponding to contributions from Europe Ecologie - Les Verts, from this IRFM account, for a total of 9,200 euros. These payments were deducted from the calculation of his income tax for the year 2015, according to his tax notice consulted by Mediapart, which indicated that he had not paid taxes that year.
"If I had immediate access to my bank statements, I would not have resigned"
According to Le Canard chained , two refunds followed from his personal account: from 6,500 euros on August 20, 2014 then from 3,200 euros on July 23, 2015, or 9,700 euros in all.
"If I had immediate access to my bank statements - which was impossible - I would not have resigned," assured François de Rugy Chained Duck . "So it's just a cash advance," argues the former minister of ecological transition, who resigned a week ago.
The use of the IRFM was not controlled at the time
The use of the IRFM, which at the time was not controlled, was then in the gray zone. This compensation, since reformed, was intended to cover the costs inherent in the mandate: renting a permanence, travel, correspondence ... But it also represented for some parliamentarians "additional income", "in the pocket", according to Charles de Courson (former UDI), even though she was not subject to income tax.
In June 2015, the ethics officer of the Assembly classified "among the expenses legally prohibited (with the IRFM, ed), those contributing to the financing of an electoral campaign". And "among the ethical expenses not recommended", he quoted the purchase of a parliamentary permanence coming to increase the inheritance of the deputy, or the payment of contributions to a party, "especially if these payments give place to a reduction of tax or a tax deduction ".