Budget 2018

[NormanH]

These are some of the proposed measures. They still have to go through l'Assemblée, but give a good idea of what is planned:

https://www.lesechos.fr/economie-france/budget-fiscalite/030613561616-impots-carburants-prestations-ce-qui-change-pour-les-menages-dans-le-budget-2018-2117505.php

[woolybanana]

Ah, Norman, I wondered if you had read this as well; looks as if the taxe d'hab will disappear for some of us but social charges will go up. Plus diesel will be going up.

And a few other things to do with dividend income.

Any thoughts?

[mint]

Yes, I'd read it but, if affected personally, it will only be marginal.

[NormanH]

1) There will be a progressive abolition of the taxe d'habitation (over 3 years) for people under a certain income threshold: 27,000 for a single person 43,000 for a couple

2) If you employ someone to help in the house you can get  cash-back from the tax people if for example the relief you were due comes to more than your tax bill. Before this you could only get relief to the point where you paid no tax and the rest was lost.

3) Some of the tax credits for making energy-efficient improvements to the house are going to begin to be phased out (Plus précisément, ce sont les portes et les fenêtres qui vont être exclues progressivement de cette aide)

but some of that credit may become a grant

4)Fuel prices particumarly Diesel are going up

[mint]

Thanks for the summary.  I did get all that.  You'd already told me about No 2, thanks again.  Nothing else changes chez mint.

[idun]

I cannot read it, but have been following on french news. Amazingly they said when discussing pensioners, that anyone receiving over 5000€ a month would be a thousand €'s a month worse off..... well.......I wish!

What a pension that is and who gets it, very few or a lot......... I have no idea.

They are increasing french pensions a tadge and hammering pensioners with more csg type payments, so many, if not most will be worse off. So there you go.

Many workers will be a bit better off, or should be, I shall have to wait and see what my son says about that.

Macron wants the french to stop saving so much........... what is that about, does he really want an economy where people have no money behind them and then need to borrow if stuff goes wrong???? Because that is what will happen........ he is on the path to a credit card economy.......... he does have some rum ideas.

[NormanH]

He wants people with capital to invest it in businesses rather than putting it into bricks and mortar

Don't forget that the increase in CSG on pensions will be off-set by the fact that for many pensioners there will be no more tax d'habitation

In any case it is hardly justifiable that a pensioner on the same income as someone working pays less CSG than the worker does.

[Harnser]

Macron is a centralist - he wants to concentrate political power away from the communes and towards Paris.

IMHO that is why he is taking away the right of the communes to impose our habitation tax and replace it with funding from the central state.

[NormanH]

Yes I agree. There are swings and roundabouts to that of course, but in general there are far too many little communes to be efficient..

[Harnser]

They may not be thought of as "efficient" to a walking spreadsheet like Macron, but locally to us the current system works. The place is tidy, clean and well presented.

It's local democracy in action.

[Chancer]

I should be a lot better of with this reform, however I cannot find in any of the articles how much the CSG/CRDS will be going up, is this a normal French thing, announce the good news and wait for a disaster day to bury the bad news?

 

My RFR will never be above €27K thanks to the 71% abattement and I would assume that the increase in CSG for someone under the RFR plafond will be less than their taxe d'hab but I never assume anything in France, in any case my taxe d'hab is very high so I should do very well from the reform.

 

It also looks like I will be able to employ une femme de menage, I have yet to pay income tax so till now there would have been no benefit.

 

Anyone know what the new CSG/CRDS rate will be?

[Chancer]

Found it, + 1.7%

 

Seems like a sensible review, more spending power to working people at the cost to those with unearned income.

[JohnFB]

I would not call pensions unearned income. They are deferred income. Earned in the past but taken today.

JFB

[woolybanana]

There are other interesting ideas around at the moment for future taxation or deficit reduction, such as removal of child allowance from the rich, taxation of visible signs of riches, such as yachts. This latter is an old French idea resurfacing.

As to the communes, yes, it may be democracy at the roots but it is too expensive; my little village has a pop of under 300 yet has a half-time secretary, employees, communal offices, fully elected councillors and mayor etc. It is well run, but far too expensive to keep as it is.

This is not a dogmatic slavery to the accounts books but just common sense.Choices have to be made and I would prefer money to be spent on supporting people in their homes, for example, rather than on free (largely) music fetes, (free) diners etc.

Amalgamation of communes has to be forced through, IMNVHO.

[Harnser]

It might be too expensive - ie administration cost per head for small communes- but ours is four times the size of yours - with the same staffing.

[NormanH]

Interesting programme featuring the Prime Minister answering many questions including many on the Budget last night:

https://www.france.tv/france-2/l-emission-politique/saison-2/252061-l-emission-politique.html