PARIS, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The French Parliament on Thursday definitively adopted the amending finance bill (PLFR) for 2022, which supplements and finances the one on purchasing power adopted on Wednesday and acts in particular to abolish the audiovisual license fee , the extension of the “tariff shield” on energy and the increase in the rebate on fuel.
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The National Assembly adopted the text in the middle of the afternoon by 292 votes against 120. The National Rally abstained and the left-wing Nupes coalition voted against.
The Senate subsequently approved the text by 233 votes in favor and 97 against.
The two chambers adopted the compromise text drawn up on Wednesday evening by a joint joint committee (CMP) bringing together deputies and senators.
“Text after text, with Parliament, compromises are being built, in the service of the French people. Let’s continue to build together”, welcomed Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Twitter.
In total, the PLFR provides more than 20 billion euros of credits for the financing of measures in favor of the purchasing power of the French. It also includes nearly ten billion euros in loans to finance the renationalisation of EDF
EDF.PA, the terms of which were specified in July.
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“We can both protect the French and prevent the accounts from slipping, we added 500 million in expenses to the 20 billion initially planned, so we were responsible”, underlined Thursday morning on RTL the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire.
This amending budget should therefore keep the public accounts on the trajectory set by the government of a public deficit of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2022.
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Here are the main measures included in this text:
* CIVIL SERVICE INDEX POINT THAW
Revaluation of 3.5% of the index point which serves as the basis for calculating the remuneration of civil servants.
* AID FOR RISING ENERGY PRICES
Extension of the energy tariff shield until the end of the year.
Increase in September of the discount on the purchase of fuel, from 18 to 30 euro cents per liter of fuel.
The left opposition – supported by the centrists in the Senate – which tried in vain to pass a tax on the exceptional superprofits of multinationals such as TotalEnergies TTEF.PA or CMA CGM CMACG.UL, warned that this question would be put back on the table during the budget discussions in the fall, with a “flash mission on the taxation of superprofits” at the start of the school year.
The government, opposed to any tax increase, preferred to rely on corporate responsibility and welcomed the gestures made at the end of July by the oil group and the maritime carrier.
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* EXCEPTIONAL BACK-TO-SCHOOL AID FOR LOWEST HOUSEHOLDS AND STUDENTS
Automatic payment in September of aid intended for recipients of social minima, the activity bonus, the allowance for disabled adults (AAH) and scholarship students.
The Senate, where the right is in the majority, had previously abolished this bonus initially reserved only for beneficiaries of social minima and scholarship students to increase the amount paid only to beneficiaries of the activity bonus and the AAH.
* REMOVAL OF CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC AUDIOVISUAL
Abolition from 2022 of the “audiovisual royalty” and marking, until the end of 2024, of a fraction of the VAT to be determined each year to finance public audiovisual.
* LONG-TERM INCREASE IN THE TAX EXEMPTION CEILING FOR OVERTIME
Increase to 7,500 euros (against 5,000 euros) of the ceiling below which overtime worked from January 1, 2022 is exempt from income tax, without time limit.
This exemption – as well as the flat-rate reduction in employer contributions on overtime in SMEs provided for in the text on purchasing power adopted on Wednesday – was denounced by the left and the unions, who highlighted the net loss for Social Security accounts.
* RTT MONETIZATION
Possibility of redemption by the employer of RTT acquired since January 1, 2022 and not taken, for private sector employees who do not have a “time savings account” (CET), until the end of 2025.
Left opposition and union representatives have condemned this measure which, in their eyes, constitutes a challenge to the 35-hour week and is part of a strategy aimed at avoiding raising minimum wages.
* COMPENSATION FOR THE INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE OF TERRITORIAL AUTHORITIES
Envelope of nearly 600 million euros for local authorities, in particular intended to help the departments to finance the revaluation of the active solidarity income (RSA) and to support the municipalities whose operating expenses are soaring with inflation.
* BIOMETRIC VITAL CARD
Funding of 20 million euros to launch the biometric vital card project in the fall, at the request of the Senate, with the aim of strengthening the fight against fraud in social benefits, the amount of which is still subject to lively debates.
(Written by Myriam Rivet, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)