Europe 1 with AFP 2:59 p.m., March 20, 2022

Accused of tax optimization by a Senate commission of inquiry, the McKinsey firm is accused of not having taxes in France, while the American firm works with the government.

But Bruno Le Maire, this Sunday March 20, assured that McKinsey “will pay what it owes to taxpayers and the French State. 

The McKinsey firm, accused of tax optimization by a Senate inquiry commission, "will pay what it owes to taxpayers and to the French state", said Sunday the Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire .

"We are going to make sure that McKinsey pays the taxes it owes to France, like all companies," he told the "Grand Jury" RTL / Le Figaro / LCI.

McKinsey defends itself

"All the procedures have already been initiated by the Directorate General of Public Finances, McKinsey will pay," added the minister.

In a document released Thursday, the Senate's commission of inquiry into the influence of consulting firms on public policy accused the French entities of the McKinsey firm of having paid no corporate tax between 2011 and 2020.

Reacting to these accusations, McKinsey ensured that it respected "all applicable French tax and social rules" and said that it had paid corporation tax "in the years when the firm made profits in France".

Three days after the publication of the final report of the Senate commission of inquiry, which described the use of consulting firms as a "sprawling phenomenon" within the State, Bruno Le Maire deemed it "legitimate" to call on these latter for "one-off missions".

"For certain services, for example computer assistance, it is wiser to call on an external service provider rather than having civil servants who take care of updating such and such a computer procedure for years" , said the minister.

Consulting spending has more than doubled in three years

"A state that works well is a state refocused on its essential missions. Calling on specialists on certain subjects also seems to me to be a principle of good management," he continued.

But "if there are abuses, that we believe that these services go too far, that the use of consulting firms is excessive, we will refocus these activities", conceded Bruno Le Maire.

On Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron had already deemed "legitimate" the use of private firms, while insisting on the control and transparency of calls for tenders.

According to the Senate report, spending on advice from ministries jumped from 379.1 million euros in 2018 to 893.9 million euros in 2021.