The French shipowner CMA CGM does not want to be the only one having to pay more taxes, so as not to be penalized against its European or Asian competitors, declared its CEO on Tuesday during a hearing at the National Assembly in full resumption of the debate on superprofits.
I have no problem paying tax, but if I pay tax, what do my competitors do? wondered Rodolphe Saad in front of the flash mission on the oil and gas companies and those of the maritime transport sector which generated exceptional profits during the crisis.
The carrier, like TotalEnergies and other multinationals, escaped a special tax on superprofits this summer, which the government opposed.
But the record amounts of its profits since last year (17.9 billion dollars in 2021, 7.6 billion in the second quarter of 2022) have earned it a place, alongside energy companies, in the debate wanted again this fall by the leftist opposition on a tax on superprofits.
A global tax?
If ever a tax were to be put in place, it should be global, said Rodolphe Saad, recalling that his company had been the only one in the sector to make gestures in recent months, including a further drop in its rates on August 1 with a reduction of its freight rates of 750 euros per 40-foot container to mainland France and the Overseas Territories.
On the other hand, the company is ready to pay an amount on the energy transition, said its CEO, who recently created an energy fund of 1.5 billion euros over five years to accelerate the decarbonization of its activities.
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Mr. Saad proposed the task of passing on CMA CGM’s price reductions to the consumer through discussions with distributors and local authorities. If we have to review the way we did it, I have no problem, but the State must take charge of this subject, he added.
According to the flash mission, the shipowner’s effective tax rate was 2% in 2021. CMA CGM is like its competitors in the European Union subject to tonnage tax, on fleet capacity and not on profits , and corporation tax for ports and logistics.