“We are in favor of companies that commit fraud being caught and rectified,” assures the president of Capeb

In the building trades, “we are in favor of these companies which defraud, which are in unfair competition with virtuous companies, being caught and rectified”, assures Jean-Christophe Repon, president of the Confederation of crafts and small construction businesses (Capeb). According to him, “it remains a major scourge”.

In detail, 1.2 billion euros in adjustments linked to hidden work were carried out in 2023. The first sector concerned is construction with 716 million for construction companies, or more than 60% of procedures. Faced with these figures, the president of Capeb tempers, specifies that “25% of inspections concern construction companies”.

“We must not make shortcuts, we are also more controlled.”

Jean-Christophe Repon, president of Capeb

at franceinfo

He also targets large companies, which, according to him, are the most affected by hidden work: “When we know that frauds are on average 200 000 euros, we can clearly see that it is not artisanal construction companies that are concerned”. According to him, “it’s not philosophy” of Capeb members to defraud but he explains that it is necessary to “pedagogy and prevention” because some companies “do not know the whole of social fraud”.

For Jean-Christophe Repon, the VAT rate should be lowered to combat this social fraud. “If we lower the VAT rate from 10% to 5% there will no longer be anyone committing social fraud”It is “an essential element to be able to work better”, he says. He adds that the sector is waiting “a lot of Bruno Le Maire on administrative simplification in business. We need equality, social contributions and virtuous business”.