To help the French cope with rising prices, Marine Le Pen proposes to remove VAT on a basket of basic products. MBut a study shows that the gain in purchasing power would be quite low: at barely 13 euros more per year on average.
This is the calculation established by the firm Asterès which studied the consequences of abolishing VAT on a whole series of basic necessities, food products such as sugar, milk, pasta, coffee, but also hygiene products, such as toothpaste, shampoo, diapers, etc. According to the authors of the study, Marine Le Pen’s proposal would therefore be negligible for the consumer. Because in fact, this decline is likely to be captured by the actors of the production chain, that is to say the manufacturers, the distributors. Barely 10% would directly benefit the end customer.
The poorest would receive little help because according to the study, the gain for the 10% of the poorest households would barely reach… nine euros per year. And as this measure would apply to everyone, the richest would also benefit, for them, for the wealthiest 10%, the gain would go up to 19 euros per year. Affluent households would earn twice as much because they consume more and therefore spend more, including basic necessities.
It’s like when the government, in 2009, reduced the VAT on catering, customers hardly saw the color. It is especially the restaurateurs who have pocketed most of the decline. There, it would be a little similar, with a big loser, always the same moreover: the State. By definition, he would no longer pocket the money from the VAT on basic products, ie, according to the study, 3.8 billion euros.
Emmanuel Macron wants something more targeted to help the most modest, the idea of a food check for the poorest comes up often but for the moment, the candidate has not specified either the modalities or the outlines, that either the amount of the check, the beneficiaries, or the list of foods that could be purchased with this check.