Paris (AFP)

Nearly 9 million households will receive an advance on certain reductions and tax credits on Wednesday as part of the implementation of the withholding tax, announced Wednesday the Minister of Public Accounts Gérald Darmanin.

"It concerns 9 million tax households, therefore potentially 17 to 18 million French people, who will receive more than 5 billion - 5.5 billion euros - that the State will give them in advance of tax credit for on average 628 euros each, "detailed the minister on RTL.

This advance corresponds to 60% of the total amount of reductions and tax credits that households can benefit from for their expenses incurred in 2018 and declared in spring 2019.

The tax reductions and credits concerned are mainly those relating to donations, the employment of an employee at home, childcare expenses or even accommodation costs in nursing homes.

It is "a cash advance for them," said Darmanin.

A regularization will then take place in the summer, taking into account the tax declaration that households will complete in the spring to either pay the balance of tax credit due or recover the excess received in January.

As part of the introduction of the withholding tax, the government has decided to set up this advance system on tax credits so that households do not find themselves in financial embarrassment until the calculation of their rights in the middle of the year, when they must gradually pay their tax from January.

In addition, the minister indicated that France recorded in 2019 a budget deficit of the State lower than expected, at nearly 93 billion euros, against 97.8 billion expected.

This is due to better-than-expected tax revenues and a burden of debt relieved by low interest rates. The public deficit, however, amounted to 3.1% of GDP.

© 2020 AFP