Raise global corporate taxes and tax billionaires more: a parliamentary report on Monday recommends strengthening the fight against tax evasion in France by also granting it more resources, deeming the government’s efforts “insufficient”.
Despite the anti-fraud plan presented in the spring by the executive, the results of tax audits remain mediocrethe personnel and resources allocated to this mission remain insufficient, tackles this report written by special rapporteur Charlotte Leduc (LFI).
The fight against tax evasion must become a national priority
The MP evokes derisory measures in the face of a fraud which she estimates between 80 and 120 billion euros: the fight against it must be a national priority, she insists. There is no official estimate of the amount of tax fraud in France. To remedy this, the government launched a Fraud Evaluation Council in October responsible for quantifying these phenomena.
The report, which emphasizes the international dimension of the fight against tax fraud, calls on France to be at the forefront in matters of tax diplomacy, a question of political will. He calls increase the minimum tax on corporate profits to 25% – compared to 15% currentlywhich is gradually being deployed across the world after the conclusion of an international agreement under the aegis of the OECD, at the end of 2021.
Concerning the assets of billionaires, he calls for the vote on a parliamentary resolution so that France defends the creation of a European tax of 2%. The document recommends more firmness towards tax havens and a tightening of measures surrounding transfer pricing, these cross-border transactions between subsidiaries of multinationals aimed at reducing profits and therefore taxes. He also proposes the establishment of unitary taxation for multinationals.
In France, the report is concerned about an alarming drop in staff numbers within the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) which the 1,500 additional positions promised by the government by 2027 will not be able to compensate for. Customs must also be strengthened.
The development of new technologies such as data mining (mass data processing) must not come at the expense of strengthening human expertise, he insists, also considering it necessary to create a common database to the various anti-fraud services.
This is the second annual report on tax evasion written by Charlotte Leduc, responsible for a cross-functional mission on the subject. None of the recommendations in the previous version have been implemented, she points out.
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