Patrick Martin believes that “the widening of the deficit very accurately reflects the economic slowdown” “VAT produces less revenue, a sign of a drop in consumption, ditto for corporate tax, a symptom of the crisis in the construction sector in particular” He was also very critical of the idea of creating a “social VAT” which would transfer part of the burden on salaries to VAT. “French companies still bear 60 billion more in production taxes and as much in social charges as the average European company.
If we want to be competitive and attractive, this is what we must tackle,” he said.