The McKinsey firm, accused of tax optimization by a Senate commission of inquiry, “will pay what it owes to the taxpayers and to the French State”said Sunday the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. “We are going to make sure that McKinsey pays the taxes it owes to France, like all companies”, he told the “Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-LCI ». “All procedures have already been initiated by the Directorate General of Public Finance, McKinsey will pay”added the minister.
In a document released Thursday, the Senate’s commission of inquiry into the influence of consulting firms on public policy accused the French entities of the McKinsey firm of having paid no corporate tax between 2011 and 2020. Reacting to these accusations, McKinsey assured that he respected “all applicable French tax and social rules” and said to have paid corporation tax “the years when the firm made a profit in France”.
Consulting spending has jumped in four years
Three days after the publication of the final report of the Senate inquiry committee, which described the use of consulting firms as “sprawling phenomenon” within the State, Bruno Le Maire judged “legitimate” to appeal to them for “one-off assignments”.
“For certain services, for example computer assistance, it is wiser to call on a service provider rather than having civil servants who deal for years with updating such and such a computer procedure”said the Minister. “A state that works well is a state that is refocused on its essential missions. Calling on specialists on certain subjects also seems to me to be a principle of good management.”, he continued. Corn “if there are any deviations, if we believe that these services go too far, that the use of consulting firms is excessive, we will refocus these activities”conceded Bruno Le Maire.
Thursday, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, had already judged “legitimate” the use of private firms, while insisting on the control and transparency of calls for tenders. According to the Senate report, spending on the advice of ministries jumped from 379.1 million euros in 2018 to 893.9 million euros in 2021.