Economic crisis: the re-establishment of the wealth tax would be “pure demagoguery”

There will be no reinstatement of wealth tax (ISF), ruled Bruno Le Maire. Abolished in 2018 by the government, it would not be a "good choice" to restore it, according to the Minister of Economy and Finance who goes further: believing that it would be effective in supporting the economy is "pure lie, pure demagoguery " , he affirmed this Thursday.

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“It's very easy to restore the ISF. If I wanted to be popular, I would go tomorrow to announce (...) we will reinstate a "tax on the rich" and France will be better. But it's not true, it's a pure lie, it's pure demagoguery: we did it for years, it didn't work, it didn't enrich France, it didn't improve prosperity, ” said Bruno Le Maire on BFMTV. Faced with the health crisis and its economic fallout, voices on the left and on the far right were raised in favor of its recovery.

In addition, "I don't think that going back on the tax cuts we made would be a good choice, since on the contrary it worked. Our fiscal policy has made the country more attractive, has brought investment, has given growth and prosperity, " he said.

According to the minister, it is better to concentrate efforts on another "fight, much more difficult to deliver"  : "the fight to tax the digital giants " . Another battle of the government, to introduce "a minimum tax on large companies to avoid tax evasion and optimization" , he continues. "It brings in a lot more than the ISF, but obviously it's much harder to set up . "

No drop in VAT for hotels and restaurants

Another expected subject is that of a possible drop in VAT. Again, Bruno Le Maire is not in favor, indicating that it has been "excluded for the hotel and catering industry" . "It is very expensive and it is not necessarily the most effective way to revive the economy and to support the most affected sectors ," he said.

“I do not think that a drop in VAT is a good measure for the other sectors which have been very affected, neither for the aeronautics nor for the automobile industry. It is a cost that amounts to tens of billions of euros for public finances and it is that much money that cannot go to supporting businesses, sectors, investment, the modernization of certain business sectors ” , he concluded.