The government’s mantra is “no taxes, no increases in levies”, neither on households nor on businesses. Bruno Le Maire wants to be reassuring: he will not puncture companies either to finance the ecological transition or to pay for the energy crisis. On the contrary, with inflation taking hold and high energy prices, the government’s strategy is to reduce the rating of companies.
For example by lowering, further, production taxes, these levies which are added to corporate taxes. In two years, Bercy will have reduced these production taxes by 18 billion euros. The government’s priority is therefore to create a favorable environment to bring factories back to France. With this simple reasoning: less taxes, these are factories that come back, employment, lower unemployment, contributions to the state coffers, more revenue and less expenditure.
Companies that are once again choosing France, it’s true, there are more and more of them. Bruno Le Maire cites Renault, for example, which installs its production of electric vehicles in France: a few years ago the diamond brand would have rather chosen China or the Eastern countries.
But what the Minister does not say is that if Renault is coming back, it is also because the manufacturer is traumatized by its experience in Russia: after investing billions, it had to abandon brand new factories, because of the conflict with Ukraine.
Bruno Le Maire also mentions semiconductor sites being built in France. Government policy is certainly attractive, but after the Covid episode, groups like STMicro electronics also came back a little from China. They no longer want to put all their investments in Asia.
Bruno Le Maire closes the door to a tax on super-profits. To companies, like Total, or BNP Paribas which are reaping record profits, he prefers to ask to make gestures directly towards consumers such as a rebate at the pump, the freezing of bank charges, etc.
Bruno Le Maire also welcomes the creation of a green fund, which large companies would contribute, to finance the ecological transition. Participation based on voluntary service, no constraint. Especially not ! Something to make the opposition cringe, especially on the left. The budget debate coming up this fall is likely to be particularly heated.