The idea of financing the ecological transition by increasing taxes on the richest resurfaced this week. But she is dismissed by Bercy.
No question of resorting to taxes: this is Bruno Le Maire’s line, and this is his response to this proposal resulting from a report submitted to Matignon by Jean Pisani-Ferry, pillar of candidate Macron’s program in 2017 In this document, the economist quantifies the amount of public investment required by the ecological transition: 34 billion euros per year until 2030, at the expense of an already over-indebted State. Hence this suggestion to increase the tax of the 10% of the wealthiest taxpayers. No question therefore for Bercy supported, for the time being, by the Elysée.
Except that the idea is gradually gaining ground, including in the majority. Within the left wing of Renaissance, several deputies would consider it logical to tax the richest more to finance the needs arising from the climate emergency. The Minister for Ecological Transition himself, Christophe Béchu, considers that this is not a taboo idea. Thursday, May 25, the boss of the institution which makes reference in terms of financing public action, the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, considered that this idea deserved to be debated.
The (political) climate is changing
Of course, many warn against the demagoguery of such a measure. “Tax the rich!” is a slogan agitated in a somewhat Pavlovian way by the opposition, often for electoral reasons more than for questions of efficiency. Conversely, tax cuts have been the compass of macronism since 2017, with certain success for economic activity and employment.
But the political climate is changing and it could have consequences for the fiscal weather. First because after the pension reform, some in the majority want to influence the social cursor. For those, since Emmanuel Macron announced two billion tax cuts for the middle classes, all the more reason to solicit more the most privileged. And, at a time when faced with the climate emergency, a handful of activists are urging the rebellion of activist minorities, even if it means questioning the legitimacy of elected officials, taxation can also help to appease people’s minds. Because tax is not just a financial instrument, it is also, and even primarily, a political tool.