Paris (AFP)
Supporting the recovery of the French economy put on the ground by the Covid-19 epidemic by opening wide the floodgates of expenditure, this is the strategy chosen by the government in its draft budget for 2021.
After the more than 460 billion euros put on the table this year to deal with the health crisis, the finance bill for 2021 presented by the government on Monday will focus on the announced 100 billion euros stimulus plan early September.
Thanks to him, the objective is to find in 2022 the "level of wealth before the crisis", assured Prime Minister Jean Castex, a goal he considered "ambitious but within our reach".
"A considerable challenge", for his part estimated the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.
Of the 100 billion planned over two years, 10 billion should have already been spent this year, in particular to support youth employment and 30 billion injected into the economy next year.
In total, a large third of the plan will be used to improve the competitiveness of companies and to promote the reindustrialisation of the country, in particular via a reduction of 10 billion euros in production taxes weighing on companies.
This will be the main fiscal measure of this budget, which illustrates the strategic axis chosen by the government: to support businesses so that they overcome the crisis and start hiring again after 800,000 job cuts expected this year.
30 billion should make it possible to accelerate the ecological transition, through aid for housing renovation or clean transport.
And finally 35 billion euros will be used to finance measures of solidarity and support for employment (training, etc.).
Thanks to this plan, the government is counting on a rebound in gross domestic product (GDP) of 8% next year, after a historic contraction expected to 10% this year.
But the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic for several weeks may threaten this ambition if no vaccine comes to reassure businesses and households, whose confidence to invest and consume is crucial to get out of the economic crisis.
- Little savings -
Alongside this exceptional expenditure component, of which more than 37 billion euros will however be financed by the European Union, the government has decided to maintain several commitments made before the crisis.
After a start of controversy, the reduction in the housing tax will start well next year for the wealthiest households and the reduction in corporate tax is also maintained.
The credits promised to the ministries of Defense, Interior or Education are also confirmed.
That of Justice will experience a significant increase of 8%, announced Jean Castex.
Because if public finances are already strained this year, in particular those of Social Security, with an expected public deficit of 10.2% of GDP, the priority goes to economic recovery.
With the blank check of Brussels which suspended European budgetary rules.
Thus, with the objective of reducing the deficit to 6.7%, few savings are to be expected: the staff of the civil service should thus be stabilized, or decrease but slightly, warned Bercy, after a loss of weight already under way. cause after the movement of "yellow vests".
The government has assured that there would be no tax increase, but to generate some additional revenue, it has planned to pay off the social housing financing body Action Housing to the tune of 1.3 billion. euros, and complementary health insurance will pay a Covid surcharge of one billion euros next year (then 500 million in 2022).
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