A resolute man
Oppositions greeted the passage of his amendment with cheers. On October 12, the National Assembly voted in favor of the proposal of the president of the MoDem group, Jean-Paul Mattei, to establish a “ flat tax » 35% off “super dividends” paid by the major groups that carry out “superprofits” due to the war in Ukraine. The government was against it, in the name of fiscal stability. But the provision is still passed thanks to the reinforcement of the elected representatives of the Nupes and the National Rally, who added their votes to the MoDem deputies and to 19 members of the Renaissance group. A snub for the executive. “Well done, comrade Mattei! », even exclaimed the communist Sébastien Jumel.
A meticulous tax expert
This blow from Trafalgar infuriated Bruno Le Maire. “Let’s stop with these formulas which are deceptions: “superdividends”, “superprofits”… Behind it, there is above all the permanent supertaxation”, denounced the Minister of the Economy, announcing that the amendment would be redacted from the finance bill before the activation of article 49.3 (which allows a text to be adopted without a vote). “The technical explanations of Bruno Le Maire do not suit me at all, gets annoyed Jean-Paul Mattei with M. These are subjects that I know very well, I taught taxation at the University of Pau. » The deputy of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a notary by profession, has long been asked by the specialized press to dissect finance bills. According to him, his amendment aimed to encourage companies to invest rather than promote rent.
A loyal friend
At 68, Jean-Paul Mattei does not have the profile of a left-wing passionaria. In 1974, the adopted Palois joined Social and Liberal Generation, the youth movement of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (whose membership card he carefully kept). Two years later, the young man met a certain François Bayrou. They have not left each other since, from the Republican Party to the UDF, to the MoDem. In 2012, Mattei will be the substitute for Béarnais in the legislative elections. “I have always considered François Bayrou to be a leading politician. The sense of fidelity and respect is important. » For sixteen years, he was mayor of Ger, a village of 2 000 inhabitants in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
An emancipated elected
Mattei was not programmed to become president of the MoDem group. The post was to go once again to Patrick Mignola (who held it from 2018 to 2022), before he was defeated in the legislative elections. Since then, the deputy has his napkin ring at Matignon and at the Elysée as leader of the majority. He advocates for the “consensus” and “dialogue” with the opposition. “We will have to review the way we legislate and work together,” he warned, in July, in response to Elisabeth Borne’s general policy speech. ” We will have to rethink the tax system to better distribute the wealth,” he added, already. “At my age, we emancipate ourselves”, smiles the elected official, who does not understand the stubborn refusal of the executive to proceed with the slightest tax increase. “The France of 2022 is not that of 2017. If we don’t ask ourselves the right questions, all the same…”