The budgetary compromise seems far away, as the government copy has been reworked. The Finance Committee of the National Assembly adopted, between Wednesday October 7 and Friday October 9, a series of amendments to the first part of the 2027 finance bill devoted to state revenue.
These votes in committee do not strictly speaking count for the future, since, as usual, the deputies will start from the initial copy as part of the debates which begin in the hemicycle from Tuesday October 13. But these discussions made it possible to clarify the positions of each party on the text and outline the scale of the task awaiting Sébastien Lecornu to find a way through.
Retirement allowance retained
During the committee examination, the government suffered a first setback on Wednesday with the rejection of one of its key savings avenues concerning retirees. The executive intends to lower the ceiling of the 10% income tax reduction from which retirees benefit to 3,000 euros (compared to 4,439 euros currently) to achieve 1.4 billion euros in savings. Deputies from La France insoumise but also from the National Rally and the central bloc voted in favor of removing this measure.
The booklet ceiling has increased
The French's preferred placement was also reworked in committee. The deputies raised the ceiling of the Livret A, currently set at 22,950 euros, to 30,000 euros by voting for an amendment to finance the fight against climate change.
High incomes put to work
Amendments from independent Liot deputies were adopted to slightly increase the exceptional contribution on high incomes and strengthen the differential contribution on high incomes, against the opinion of the general budget rapporteur, deputy Philippe Juvin (Les Républicains).
The finance committee notably voted for an amendment from Charles de Courson (Liot) establishing an annual tax of 2% on certain investment securities held by family holding companies, to limit optimization behavior.
The deputies also approved an amendment from the president of the finance committee, the rebellious deputy Eric Coquerel, lowering the threshold for applying the tax on share buybacks from 750 million to 100 million euros of turnover.
Tax-free overtime
Companies were also contacted by members of the commission. A Renaissance amendment was thus adopted to remove the existing ceiling of 7,500 euros beyond which overtime is taxed. The aim is to allow total tax exemption for overtime.
The revamped research tax credit
The commission also overhauled the research tax credit (CIR). An amendment carried by the Socialists established a more progressive scale for this tax niche, strengthening the advantage granted to small and medium-sized innovative businesses while reducing that enjoyed by the largest users of the system.
The socialist group also obtained the benefit of the CIR conditional on the maintenance of the research or production activities concerned in France for ten years, with reimbursement of the tax credit in the event of relocation or additional reduction of the workforce.
Measures for agriculture
The deputies also adopted a package of consensual measures in favor of agriculture and livestock farming. The ceiling for the precautionary savings deduction (DEP) was thus increased from 150,000 to 250,000 euros. The conditions for using this savings after a disaster have also been relaxed.
The rules applicable to fodder stocks have also been adapted for breeders. And the deputies adopted an amendment from environmentalists exempting from tax compensation intended to compensate for crop losses linked to heatwaves, drought and fires.
The tax on Gafam largely reassessed
The deputies also adopted an environmentalist amendment aimed at quintupling the tax on digital giants, known as the "Gafam tax", an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft, by increasing its rate from 3% to 15%. And this, against the advice of the general budget rapporteur.
Created in 2019, the digital services tax targets in particular revenues from targeted online advertising. Last year, an increase in this tax to 6% was voted on in the chamber but was not retained after recourse to article 49.3.
A tax boost to protect against cyberattacks
Supported by the UDR group, an ally of the RN, and supported by the general rapporteur, an amendment was adopted to integrate cybersecurity software and equipment into the "excess depreciation" system, a tax deduction provided for in the draft budget for 2027.
This mechanism aims to encourage SMEs and mid-sized companies to modernize their facilities, by allowing them to pay less taxes when they invest in equipment such as robots or 3D printers.
A zero-interest loan created for parents
In committee, MEPs expanded the creation of a zero-interest loan (PTZ) dedicated to families who have a young child or are expecting one. This government measure, defended by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to boost the birth rate, was to allow “households with an unborn child or one born less than three years ago to obtain a new tranche of PTZ to buy housing”.
In its government version, the system was supervised and allocated subject to means conditions. But an amendment from the MoDem allowed its clear enlargement, removing any resource condition and increasing the amount of the loan to 100,000 euros maximum. It also extends the measure to families with a child under 5 years old.
Exemptions for social landlords
The deputies also displayed their disagreements on social housing, while the government proposes to extend until 2030 certain exemptions allocated to social landlords. The measure was fought in particular by the RN, without success.
This boost was nevertheless attenuated by the adoption of an amendment from the former Minister of Housing Guillaume Kasbarian (Renaissance) to introduce a degression in the property tax exemptions granted to social landlords.
