the amending budget arrives in the Senate, debate expected on a taxation of superprofits

The Senate begins the examination in first reading of the amending budget, Monday 1er August, with an expected debate on the question of taxing the superprofits of large groups. If the exchanges should be less tense than in the National Assembly, the calendar is tight: two days in public session, Monday and Tuesday, nights included.

Continuation of the tariff shield on energy and the fuel discount of 30 cents per liter in September-October then 10 cents in November-December, revaluation of the index point for civil servants… The amending finance bill for 2022 opens 44 billion euros in loans, including 9.7 billion to finance the 100% renationalisation of Electricité de France (EDF).

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The senators will not escape, moreover, the debate on the taxation of superprofits. Slightly rejected by the deputies, it was revived by the enormous profits reaped by TotalEnergies, but also Engie and carriers such as CMA CGM. TotalEnergies more than doubled its net profit in the second quarter to $5.7 billion.

The idea of ​​an exceptional contribution in the form of a tax, as applied in Great Britain or Italy, will be carried by the left, but also by the centrist group. Its president, Hervé Marseille, is worth making its “markers”even if “diverge” with Les Républicains (LR), the first component of the right-wing senatorial majority.

“We have a vision that is more social than budgetary”, he told Agence France-Presse (AFP). His group will propose the establishment of an exceptional solidarity contribution on superprofits at 20%. Even with the support of the entire left, the supertax should not, however, unless surprise, be voted on.

The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, has strongly opposed it in recent weeks, arguing that“a tax is not a response to the economic situation of our country” – Mr. Le Maire even criticized the “Pavlovian reflex” what, in his view, constituted the idea of ​​new taxation in the face of the crisis. The Minister Delegate for Trade, Olivia Grégoire, for her part, postponed the question to the end of the year, “if we realize that companies have not taken their responsibilities towards the French”.

Provisional allocation of part of the VAT to public broadcasting

Another expected point of discussion, the abolition of the audiovisual license fee. The left opposes it and the centrists demand that it be postponed. Without calling it into question, the general rapporteur for the budget, Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains), proposes to limit to December 31, 2024 the allocation of a fraction of the proceeds of value added tax (VAT) intended to ensure the funding of public broadcasting, the time to put in place “a real reform of the sector”.

The LR group will also return to the charge on overtime, wishing to perpetuate the increase to 7,500 euros in the tax exemption ceiling, voted by the National Assembly for 2022. The Senate will, moreover, be keen to push a little more far from the cursor of support measures for local authorities, which are also affected by inflation, the general rapporteur wishing “a safety net”.

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In committee, the senators again adopted an envelope “exceptional of 40 million euros” for food banks. They also replaced the exceptional back-to-school bonus of 100 euros, reserved for social minima, with an exceptional increase of 150 euros for beneficiaries of the activity bonus.

Regarding the price of fuel, Mr. Husson does not intend to go back on the compromise reached by the government with the Republican deputies. “We are not going to add confusion to an agreement resulting from a standoff”, he told AFP. Bruno Le Maire wished to be able “keep this compromise”specifying that with the discounts from distributors and tankers, “we can have a price per liter of petrol or diesel at the start of the school year around 1.50 euros”.

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The Senate already voted on Friday evening at first reading, after having amended it, the bill of” emergency “ in support of the purchasing power adopted at the Assembly. Deputies and senators will meet Monday at the end of the afternoon in a joint joint committee to try to agree on a common version of this first part of the measures, the government expecting a final adoption of the two texts no later than August 7. , which would allow parliamentarians to go on vacation.

The World with AFP

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