The National Assembly rejected Thursday a communist bill aimed in particular at restoring the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF), a demand shared by all left groups, but an "old ineffective recipe" according to the government or the right.
"A fair contribution must be requested from the most wealthy: it is" not a revenge or punitive logic ", but an" essential solidarity effort ", argued PCF deputy Jean-Paul Dufrègne, rapporteur of the text examined during of the parliamentary “niche” of his group.
"Counterproductive tools"
"The old recipes no longer work," replied Secretary of State Agnès Pannier-Runacher. "These tools have not been effective and would be counterproductive." MP LREM Nadia Hai in turn denounced the "lie" of "making believe that by confiscating some, we will reduce inequalities for others" and the MoDem Mohamed Laqhila criticized an "anti-business and anti-entrepreneur tax", with a "very small net gain".
On the tribune, the communist Hubert Wulfranc took off his shoe to type in rhythm on the desk, evoking the "background noise" and the "flashing of reality" of "many voices who say that the ISF has nothing radical and that we can envisage its recovery ”. "Follow this background noise (...) otherwise your policy will always be as worn as the sole of my shoes", he concluded. The reinstatement of this tax had been mentioned by the movement of yellow vests. More recently, the secretary general of the CFDT Laurent Berger assured that this "option" should be considered in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
On the right, Alain Ramadier (LR) reproached the communists for wanting to "oppose the French to each other", with a "totem", "a punitive measure which would risk driving away more investment".
Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo cited
Left parties to the trade union movement, passing by the Nobel Prize winner in economics Esther Duflo, voices demanding the reinstatement of the ISF, abolished by Emmanuel Macron and replaced by a tax on property wealth (IFI) at the start of the five-year term .
"Pure demagoguery," replied the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, who does not want a tax hike, while Medef judges that restoring it would be "a very bad signal". For most LREMs, this is a "rearguard debate", especially since these past revenues - up to 5 billion euros per year - are "out of all proportion" with the hundreds of billions of euros already committed to the crisis.
