Communities will spend more than they collect in 2023, warns the Court of Auditors in a report on community finances published on Tuesday, which is of particular concern to the departments.
The departments, whose expenses are mainly attributed to medical-social action, with, for example, the payment of the Active Solidarity Income (RSA), should see their gross savings decrease, that is, the difference between their income and their expenses, by 39 %. this year. The Court made its calculations based on the communities’ finances at the end of September and the Government’s forecasts in its draft budget for 2024.
Its social spending and the remuneration of its agents should increase faster than inflation, the institution calculates, while several department presidents have recently denounced the cost, which they no longer consider bearable for their finances, of Social Assistance for Children ( ASE).
Municipalities are improving
On the income side, the departments will be affected by the sharp slowdown in the real estate market, since a fifth of their income will come from taxes on transfers for consideration, which are levied on the sale of a property and are included in “notary expenses”.
Hence a “scissors effect” on their finances, warns the Court, which recommends reforming the way departments are financed to make them less dependent on economic fluctuations.
The regions should see their gross savings fall by 12%: the drop in consumption, which affects the indirect taxes (VAT, TICPE) assigned to the communities, will weigh on their accounts.
Under better conditions, municipalities should see their savings improve by 21%, while those of inter-municipalities are expected to decrease slightly (-3%). In particular, they will benefit from increased revenue from property taxes.
All communities should suffer, on a national scale, a deficit of 2.6 billion euros in 2023 and then 2.9 billion in 2024. But their investment expenditure should continue to increase, which will push them to resort to their cash flow, after have had a surplus in 2022, or go into debt.
Source: BFM TV
