Inflation and purchasing power: three questions on the government’s promise to lower taxes for the middle classes

Many French people claim to be middle class, but the reference criterion does not exist. There is no official definition. “However, there is a figure to remember, it is 2,091 euros net per month. Half of employees in the private sector earn less than that, the other earns more. The middle class is evolving around this figure“, explains journalist Axel de Tarlé.

President Emmanuel Macron, however, gave his definition of the middle class: “French people who earn between 1,500 and 2,500 euros per month’, which represents one in two employees“, recalls Axel de Tarlé. For these French people, would the impact of the tax cut be significant? The government plans a reduction of two billion euros. “If you divide two billion to be shared between half of the households, so 15 million, that gives you a tax cut of 133 euros per year“, explains the journalist.

The end of “whatever it takes”

This tax cut has a cost and for the Minister of the Economy, “whatever it costs” is over. “Bruno The Mayor was very clear last Monday. Even before the reshuffle, he said ‘the hardest part is ahead of us’ and he had in mind the end of the tariff shield: not only are we going to stop subsidies, but we are going to reimpose taxes, particularly the electricity tax.“, explains Axel de Tarlé. “Which means that at the end of the month, the price of electricity should increase by 10%, which means a bill of 160 euros extra per year for households to pay. The tax cut is therefore completely eliminated because of the end of “whatever it takes”he concludes.