End or reduction of certain boosts, rise in the minimum wage… in a context of still galloping inflation, the year 2023 is starting with its share of changes.
A less generous tariff shield for gas and electricity bills
After more than a year of price freezes for gas and a +4% cap for electricity since February 2022, the government’s support measures will be reduced. A 15% increase is therefore to be expected on household energy bills at the regulated tariff: this new tariff shield will be put in place from January for gas, and February for electricity.
The end of the pump discount and the new “fuel allowance”
Also very expensive, the government pump rebate will end at the end of the month. The boost, which benefited all French people, will be replaced by a fuel allowance of €100 or €200, reserved for households not exceeding a certain level of income. Eligible households will have to apply for it on the Tax website. The steps can be taken from January 16.
A bonus of €100 will also be paid to drivers registering for the first time on a carpooling site and making at least ten short carpool trips (with a maximum distance of 80km) within three months of registration.
24€ net increase for the Smic
Inflation obliges, new increase in the Smic to be expected on January 1st. Its amount will increase to €11.27 gross per hour, i.e. €1,709.28 gross per month and €1,353.07 net per month, said the Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal. A revaluation of 1.8% compared to its current amount (+€24 net). In 2022, the minimum wage had been increased three times: in January, May and August.
Raising the ceiling for meal vouchers
In 2023, the maximum daily value of a meal voucher will be increased from €11.84 to €13. With this increase, the maximum amount of the employer’s contribution exempt from tax and social charges increases to €6.5 per day – an increase of nearly 10%.
Be careful not to confuse this with the daily spending limit for securities, which is higher than their daily face value. This has been €25 since last summer.
Heat stroke on the Navigo pass and metro tickets
After weeks of suspense and negotiations between the State and the Ile-de-France Region, the Navigo pass will be billed at €84.10 per month, i.e. €8.9 more than in 2022. The price of the Navigo pass , currently at €75.2, had not changed since 2017.
The prices of other passes and metro tickets are also increasing, with the exception of the Imagine R pass (schools, students and apprentices), which is not changed until the next school year.
From January 1, the Navigo week thus goes to €30 (+€7.2), the metro ticket to €2.1 (+€0.2), the booklet of 10 to €9.55 (+ €1.1).
End clap for the red stamp
Surprise of this end of the year, La Poste announced the disappearance of the “physical” stamp, which had until then resisted the “digitization” of services. Instead of the red stamp, a “red e-letter”, a dematerialized version of priority mail. Concretely, if you want to send a letter, you will now have to “type” it on the La Poste website, then frank it digitally. Your recipient’s center will then print and distribute it.
A 360° turn, undertaken on January 1, which has not failed to come under criticism since the announcement of La Poste: additional digital divide for part of the population, partly the elderly, who do not have access to the Internet or do not know how to use these tools (even if it will be possible to make an appointment with an agent at home so that he takes care of the sending), problem of confidentiality of postal exchanges, since the content will be within the reach of agents, computer security… or even an increase in the price of the service, since the “e-letter” will be invoiced… €1.49.
For refractories, however, it will be possible to opt for the “green stamp”, which remains in its “physical” version, for an unchanged price of €1.16.
Free condoms for under 26s
From January 1, anyone under the age of 26 will be able to obtain free male condoms from pharmacies. Generalized free admission for young people, which until now was only possible at certain screening centres, associations and school infirmaries for minors.
A zero interest loan for the purchase of clean vehicles
Offered as a trial for two years in “low mobility emission zones”*, this loan for the purchase of a hybrid or electric vehicle will be granted to households whose tax income per unit does not exceed €14,000 as well as to companies less than 10 employees whose turnover or balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million euros. The PTZ may be a maximum of €30,000 for the purchase of a car with a maximum value of €45,000, or €60,000 for a van.
€600 additional tax credit for childcare for children under six
Households who have their child(ren) under the age of six looked after outside (in an approved crèche, daycare centre, leisure center or with a childminder) are eligible for a tax credit of 50% of their expenses.
The ceiling of this tax credit, which was 2,300 euros per dependent child, increases to 3,500 euros for expenses incurred in 2022.
In concrete terms, the tax credit (paid in 2023) could thus reach €1,750 (50% of €3,500) compared to €1,150 last year, i.e. a gain in purchasing power of €600 per child for these benefits.
*To reduce air pollution, the mobility orientation law created in 2021 the mobility low emission zones (ZFE-m) allowing communities to limit the circulation of the most polluting vehicles on their territory. Eleven metropolises are affected by this system (Paris, Aix-Marseille, Grand Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Rouen, Toulouse, Nice, Strasbourg, Toulon).
And also….
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