Manuel Valls reiterated in an interview with L’Express published Tuesday that the deficit of France would be below 3% in 2017, a target questioned in June by the Court of Auditors due to new expenditures from the beginning of the year.
By the end of five years, “we will continue to act and innovate, while continuing our efforts to reduce deficits. I confirm here that we will reach our goal of less than 3% in 2017 ” , said the Prime Minister.
On a possible new tax cuts in the 2017 budget, “the trade-offs for 2017 have not yet been made. They are related to growth prospects. But the president and I want to continue to restore purchasing power to the French. Different tracks are considered: continuing decline in income tax or increase the premium of activity ” , also said Manuel Valls.
Tax cut?
Francois Hollande had said on the 14th July that any new tax cuts could intervene if the government had the”certainty” of higher growth in 2017 than this year and at least 1.7%.
Moreover, this fall, “we also will begin the reform of social minima with raw simplification measures in the draft Social Security financing law” , said Tuesday the head of government, saying that the fight against insecurity and poverty would also be “at the heart of the presidential” .
Prime Minister reaffirms want “engage the debate on universal income, provided to clarify the terms and conditions” .
Lower corporate taxes
Moreover, Manuel Valls announced that the company tax would be partly lowered from 33.3% to 28% for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the draft budget for 2017.
“For SMEs, there will be a decrease to 28% of the corporate tax on part of their earnings” , said the head of the government, which also confirms further reductions in burdens for businesses in the part of the final tranche of tax credit for competitiveness and employment (CICE). According to the head of government, this reduction will be integrated with five billion euros of charges and tax cuts promised to companies in the part of the final tranche of responsibility pact.
In an interview with Les Echos, the president of the CGPME, François Asselin, had claimed this weekend a lowering of the SI “around 25%” for SMEs. “This would over time, in three to five years, to allow French SMEs and TPE to regain equity in forces and thus a capacity for innovation and investment “, he had argued.
