The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, readily points out that France will make savings next year. To achieve this, the executive is preparing cuts in employment and health policy as well as a greening of taxation.
After weeks of reflection, trial balloons launched in the press and meetings with opposition parliamentarians, the draft State and Social Security budget for 2024 will be known on September 27. This summer, Gabriel Attal, then Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts, summed it up in two words to the Echoes : “green debt reduction”. Clearly, the idea is to spend less, to reduce the deficit and the record debt, contrary to France’s European commitments. But also reinvest part of these savings, particularly in the ecological transition.
To achieve these objectives, the 2024 budget will include around 16 million euros in savings, promised the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. These will primarily concern health spending, employment policy and the greening of taxation, he warned during the Public Finance Conference in June. But, in view of the increase in other expenses (ecological transition, national education, defense, etc.), the drop in public spending should rather be around four billion euros, according to a document sent to Parliament mid -July.
In short, a budget “far from a shock of austerity” and which relates more to “the balancing act” between “reduce the deficit” And “support purchasing power and activity”analysis Sylvain Bersinger, chief economist of the Asterès firm. Franceinfo lists the measures confirmed, or strongly considered, to complete the 2024 accounts.
Spending curbed by the end of exceptional aid measures
To have money, one solution is first… not to spend it. The gradual end of tariff shield on the prices of gas and electricity and the absence of rebates on fuel prices should allow the State to save around 10 billion euros in 2024 compared to 2023, predicts Bercy. The end of exceptional aid to businesses due to inflation (nearly 25 billion euros spent between 2022 and 2023, according to the Court of Auditors) and the gradual exit from Recovery plan (100 billion euros over three years) will also reduce the expenditure column.
All these “mechanical” savings, linked to the decline in the health and energy crises, are added to the reduction in spending of ten billion euros promised by Bruno Le Maire, franceinfo learned from Bercy. But they are not permanent. “With the mitigation of the energy shock, these are savings a bit all found for the government. But next year, we will have to find other levers.”notes Sylvain Bersinger.
Health savings
To meet the spending reduction objectives set by Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, announced on LCI that he wanted to strengthen the “controls” sick leave. On the other hand, he said he was not in favor of extending the waiting period.
The Social Security budget should also include a doubling of the medical deductible on boxes of medicines and paramedical consultations (physiotherapy, nursing care, etc.), which would go from 50 cents to one euro. The Prime Minister, who confirmed at the end of August on France Bleu that the track was “the study”assured that the government would take into account “very modest people”but also “patients who have long-term conditions or chronic conditions”. She also promised that taxes on alcohol would not be increased next year – a hypothesis which had greatly worried winegrowers.
Savings on employment policy
If learning has made it possible to reduce the youth unemployment rate, its exorbitant cost could be revised downwards. The aid of 6,000 euros that companies receive by hiring a young person is the subject of reflection, confirmed to Figaro the Macronist deputy Marc Ferracci, close to Emmanuel Macron.
Furthermore, some 15,000 supported jobs should disappear, announced the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, on the sidelines of the Medef summer university in Paris, at the end of August. Finally, the ministry is working on the introduction of a “modification” on the personal training account, assured Bruno Le Maire. Up to 30% of the training followed could remain the responsibility of the user. In total, the government hopes to save one billion euros on employment policy. He is also counting on the first profits of his unemployment insurance reform, which should save 700 million euros next year.
Tax cuts postponed for households and businesses
Faithful to the line drawn by Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne also assured that it was not “No way” that the State increases household taxes in 2024. They will also see the income tax scale increased by 4.8%, in order to prevent employees increased in 2023 from ultimately losing out when it comes time to pay their taxes. An effort which will cost the State 6 billion euros.
But the promised reductions will have to wait until the rest of the five-year term. While the president had mentioned in the spring a tax cuts for households of two billion euros, Bruno Le Maire assured the Figaro that the promise would be kept “as quickly as possible” by 2027… but not before 2025 at least.
Furthermore, the contribution on the added value of companies (CVAE), a production tax which was to disappear completely next year, will be phased out gradually until 2027, the Minister of the Economy also confirmed. On the other hand, there no longer seems any question for 2024 of removing the reductions in charges granted to companies on salaries between 2.5 and 3.5 times the minimum wage, an option that was once mentioned.
Savings and tax increases to finance the ecological transition
In addition to postponing certain tax cuts, the executive intends to maximize its tax revenue, in order to finance the ecological transition. In particular, it will increase the so-called “solidarity” tax applicable to all plane tickets from France in order to finance investments in rail. Of the additional taxes on highway companies and plane tickets will appear in the 2024 budget, confirmed the Minister Delegate in charge of Transport, Clément Beaune, at the Medef summer school.
The government also wants to remove certain so-called “brown” tax niches because they encourage the use of fossil fuels. This is the case of the advantage over the use of non-road diesel (NGR) from which the construction and agricultural sectors benefit, confirmed Bruno Le Maire on franceinfo. On the other hand, carriers will retain this tax loophole.
On the housing side, the Pinel nicheintended for individuals investing in new housing to rent it, will be abandoned, while the zero interest loan will be “refocused on the most environmentally friendly operations”, announced Bruno Le Maire. Everything should pay off “2.3 billion from 2025”specifies Bercy to Echoes.
The tax which affects in the form of penalty for new thermal cars weighing more than 1.8 tonnes will “without a doubt” be extended, via lowering this weight, also indicated Clément Beaune, on RTL-Le Figaro-LCI.
Finally, Elisabeth Borne asked each ministry in the spring to tighten their belts by identifying 5% savings possible, excluding salaries. These seven billion euros will partly go towards financing the ecological transition, announced Bruno Le Maire.