Increased resources and new targets. To combat undeclared work, the Urssaf will expand its workforce while focusing on specific areas of the economy where offenses seem to be on the increase. Presented Thursday, June 8 by the body that collects contributions from employers and workers, this strategy is part of the anti-social fraud plan that the government announced at the end of May.
The financial stakes of the problem are far from negligible. In the private sector, the damage had been estimated in a range between 5.7 billion and 7.1 billion euros, according to a report made in 2021 by the High Council for the financing of social protection. Synonymous with revenue losses for our welfare state, these orders of magnitude relate to contributions “eluded” – that is to say who have not been paid following a violation of the rules (non-payment of wages, omission of declarations of employment, absence of registration of the company in the commercial register , etc.).
Such practices are tracked down by the Urssaf, with an efficiency that would improve, according to its director general, Yann-Gaël Amghar. In 2022, the actions carried out made it possible to ” to sort out “ 788.1 million euros, a figure down very slightly compared to 2021, but which has been multiplied by 2.7 in ten years.
Important clarification: the sums in question correspond to what should have been settled and that the Urssaf agents are claiming. The amounts actually recovered are ten times lower: only 77 million in 2022. Some companies are unable to honor their debts or contest them, sometimes before the courts. Others organize their insolvency or transfer their financial assets abroad. In this case, it is a question of excesses attributable – among other things – to so-called “ephemeral” companies. : they very often have no real activity and were formed solely to capture public aid before closing up shop.
The “fear of the policeman”
The fact that the yield from the procedures is so low may seem discouraging, given the energy deployed to recover the evaded contributions. But you shouldn’t see it as a ” failure “emphasized Mr. Amghar on Thursday during a press conference: a control accompanied by a sanction not only makes it possible to stop illicit actions, but also to send a “signal to the actors”, which has a deterrent effect. The “fear of the gendarme” has an influence on the behavior of employers, added Emmanuel Dellacherie, director of regulations at Urssaf.
You have 33.03% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.