Bruno Le Maire sermons Medef after a criticism of “addiction to public debt”

On France Inter, the Minister of the Economy ironically proposed to the employers, if he judges that the State spends too much money, to give up production tax cuts.

Le Monde with AFP

It’s “a little strong coffee”. Bruno Le Maire denounced, Tuesday, September 27 on France Inter, the criticisms formulated by the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (Medef, employer union) against the draft budget for 2023 presented the day before. In a press release, the first employers’ organization in France regretted “addiction to public expenditure”. “The Medef finds that we are increasing the debt and the public deficit? I make them a proposal: you just have to give up lowering production taxes, it costs 8 billion euros, we will save” , quipped the number two of the government, in an unusually dry tone towards employers.

In its draft budget, the Government plans, in fact, to delete by 2024 the contribution on the added value of companies (CVAE), a request for employers which represents a loss of tax revenue of the order 8 billion euros.

“If Medef really wants us to reduce the deficit and debt, which it stops supporting lips with lips the pension reform, that it supports it with enthusiasm and determination, fulminated the minister. is 8 to 9 billion euros in savings at the end of the five -year term. “

call for” coherence “

The tenant of Bercy did not stop his severe lesson there. “If the Medef wants to reduce public spending, the Labaronne commission [a group of deputies responsible for offering avenues for reducing public expenditure] has identified all the tax credits from which companies benefit” -He underlines. That the Medef “comes to identify with us the tax credits that we could reduce, and that it has a little bit of consistency,” concluded the minister.

In its press release published on Monday, Medef said that current expenses outside the crisis were going to increase by “more than 62 billion euros in 2023”. “France continues to live above its means,” said the employers’ organization. In a more moderate tone, the Union of local companies (U2P) deplored a “limit” in the draft budget for 2023 on Monday. According to the organization which represents artisans and local businesses, the text “will contribute to weigh the charge of the country’s debt without it being possible to guarantee the level of growth which will be reached in 2023 “.

/Media reports.