Public deficit: Bruno Le Maire “remains totally opposed to any tax increase”

“The state's finances must be restored, I am not going to tell you the opposite,” reacted Bruno Le Maire this Tuesday morning, a few minutes after the announcement of INSEE figures, according to which the public deficit of the France reached 5.5% of GDP in 2023, at 154.0 billion euros. That is much more than the 4.8% deficit for 2022 and the 4.9% initially planned by the government for 2023. Guest of RTL, the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty underlined its “determination to restore public finances and to return below the 3% public deficit in 2027”, deeming it “intact and total”.

“I maintain the objective of returning the public deficit below 3% in 2027. This will require additional efforts, because it is the same objective as before but with a situation which is more degraded. It will require more determination, a lot of method and a lot of composure,” he added. Before recalling that the initial objective was 4.9% and had therefore “not been achieved”. “We must draw the consequences”, he continued, explaining that despite “good growth” of almost 1%, France had tax revenues “much lower than expected”.

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“There, there is an exceptional situation where tax revenues are not keeping up,” said Bruno Le Maire, estimating that “the loss of tax revenues” was “21 billion euros”. Now wishing to “draw the consequences” of this exceptional situation, the minister spoke of future savings “on all expenses”, citing “those of the State, social expenses and local authorities”. “That’s what I’m proposing, it’s not belt-tightening but it’s making choices,” he said, starting “by reducing state spending,” already reduced – as he recalls - “8 billion euros in 2023”. “In total, the State made 18 billion euros in savings in 6 months,” he assured.

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Regarding the thorny issue of taxes, the boss of Bercy said he was “open to all debates”. “We can perfectly make savings on public spending without digging into the pockets of the French, and I remain – this is my conviction and my position – totally opposed to any tax increase on our compatriots who already pay high taxes” , he nevertheless explained. Before launching: “The French are tired of paying. And those who work are tired of paying everything for everyone.” Same thing for companies which, according to him, are already heavily taxed: up to 30% on dividends but also on French shares.

Asked what savings would be envisaged, the minister called for “collective awareness”, taking the example of doubling the deductible in the context of reimbursement of medicines. “Very concretely on medicine, when we decide to increase the deductible from 50 cents to one euro, it is a way of saying “sorry but medicine cannot be open bar. Look at all the medications you stockpile in your pharmacy, it all has a cost. It’s you who pays, it’s the taxpayer who pays,” he said, recalling that this measure would bring in “more than a billion euros.” As for the possibility of reimbursement for medicines commensurate with income, Bruno Le Maire said he was “open to all debates”, but later recalled that this avenue was “excluded by the government”. “It is not up to me to decide how savings should be made, it must be a collective debate,” he insisted.

“Our objective must remain full employment, support for businesses, stable or decreasing taxation (...) Let's not go head to head in the five-year term, let's not end the next five-year term by increasing taxes and letting unemployment and the public deficit slide,” he finally said. Before giving the road map for the coming months: “contribute to lowering taxes, moving towards full employment, supporting businesses, restoring public finances”. “Let’s stay our course and our consistency, that’s what I call the French way,” he concluded, claiming to be “the guardian of this line.”