The Democratic and Republican Left deputy from Cher detailed on Tuesday on franceinfo his proposal for an “exceptional” tax on the wealth of the richest to develop the railway.
“Make the highest heritages contribute” to finance the ecological transition “is obvious today”, estimated Tuesday September 26 on franceinfo Nicolas Sansu, Democratic and Republican Left deputy for Cher. With the MoDem deputy Jean-Paul Mattei, he recommended in a parliamentary report a tax “exceptional” on the wealth of the richest to finance the ecological transition. “It is a levy of 5% on the highest assets and for around thirty years”, he indicated. According to him, this will bring in 150 billion and will allow the development of rail. “As long as we do nothing, the road will always be a winner” [par rapport au train].
franceinfo: The idea is to set up temporary European taxation?
Nicolas Sansu: We also have an annuity society, a society of heirs and we must at all costs be able to find financing solutions. Everyone knows that billions and tens of billions are needed to successfully finance the ecological transition, the climate transition. Obviously making the highest assets contribute is obvious today.
How much do you want to collect?
It is the Jean Pisani-Ferry tax which was recently presented to Parliament. The idea is to put it at the European level so that we can have a real European battle on this issue of climate transition. It is a levy of 5% on the highest assets and for around thirty years, to make it possible to really branch out with real programming on the ecological transition.
“We have also proposed a global tax on the wealth of the richest to launch this reflection which is today recommended by a certain number of platforms and NGOs such as Oxfam. The development of countries in the South in particular will only take place provided we help them.”
Nicolas Sansucommunist deputy of Cher
How much would a 5% levy over 30 years bring in?
It is estimated at 150 billion. This already allows you to do a certain number of things. When it comes to rail freight, we have absolutely considerable challenges. We say we want to double traffic, but today we are doing nothing. So as long as we do nothing, the road will always be a winner. We can’t afford it anymore.
Is a European levy more acceptable to the government?
It’s a way of trying to hit the mark because we will never get everyone to agree on this new tax for the richest. But in any case, this debate will take place, including at the time of the finance bill for 2024 which begins in committee in ten days. For my part, I had pleaded for a contribution already at the French level. With Jean-Paul Mattei, we agreed that it would be at the European level, so that there would be this debate. The question is how we win the cultural battle on this subject. We are winning it, quite simply because assets have exploded and it is no longer tenable. It is even a question of consent to tax.
“When we tell people that you have the price of gasoline at 2 euros, but the richest are digging in, that can’t work. If we want our fellow citizens to agree to pay the tax because that they see services, because they see changes, because they see that they are being taken care of, the climate emergency, the social emergency, they will do it.
Nicolas Sansuon franceinfo
Otherwise, we will move towards movements that we experienced recently and which will come back. Which is normal because in France, revolutions always come from a problem of consent to tax. We have article 13 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen which is very clear. Everyone must contribute according to their respective faculties and today this is not the case.