A pillar of the Government’s strategy to restore public finances, together with the growth and control of public spending, the fight against tax evasion has allowed the State to recover the record amount of 14.6 billion euros in taxes and sanctions in 2022.
But the Executive wants to go further as the Delegate Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, presents this Tuesday his new battle plan to reinforce the efficiency of the services of the General Directorate of Public Finance in charge of locating tax evaders.
Long awaited, according to our information, this plan will record the creation in 2025 of an observatory to better understand the scope of tax evasion, currently estimated at between 30 and 100 billion euros. This evaluation council will be made up of experts and parliamentarians whose mission will be to make honest evaluations.
Stricter rules and reinforced staff
The main philosophy of the Government’s plan is to concentrate efforts against the biggest fraudsters and, on the contrary, alleviate the pressure on the smallest, while 80% of the adjusted rights are due to 10 or 15% of the files. “Our priority: making the ultra-rich and defrauding multinationals pay what they owe. (…) Each fraud is serious, but that of the most powerful is unforgivable”, says Gabriel Attal in The world.
To do this, the government intends to increase by 25% at the end of the five-year period the number of tax audits of the largest assets. Additionally, the 100 largest market capitalizations will be subject to a tax audit every two years. This will require a reinforcement of the labor force. 1,500 additional agents (including 40 judicial officials) will thus work in the fight against tax evasion by 2027, when there will be 11,500, 15% more than today.
Another measure: the tightening of the rules to fight against the most serious frauds. For example, lowering the billing threshold from which multinationals must declare their transfer prices to the administration. They must also justify the way in which they build these transfer prices. Some legal optimization schemes located today in the famous gray area could now become illegal.
Gabriel Attal’s plan should also lead to the creation of a true tax intelligence service that operates in the same way as the DGSI. Composed of 100 agents who will be trained at the end of the five-year period, this unit will be able to recruit human sources who work for financial institutions and remunerate them in exchange for information. To detect major international fraud and publish future “Panama Papers” made at Bercy, you will be able to use intelligence techniques such as wiretapping, data capture, or even beaconing.
Tougher penalties for big fraudsters
The government’s plan provides for tougher penalties against the biggest fraudsters, for example when there is concealment of assets abroad. Together with the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, Gabriel Attal intends to work on a sanction of fiscal and civic indignity. Obviously, a person who has committed aggravated tax evasion could be deprived of any tax reduction or credit and of his right to vote for a certain period of time. However, the Delegate Minister of Public Accounts will go to the Council of State to ensure that this measure is in accordance with the Constitution.
Among the other measures announced: Tax evasion convictions without a custodial sentence must now be accompanied by community service. Finally, a crime of incitement to tax evasion will be created, punishable by three years in prison and a pecuniary penalty, to prosecute intermediaries such as tax optimization companies that provide turnkey legal kits to defraud.
If the government plans to strengthen sanctions against big fraudsters, it wants to reduce the pressure on taxpayers from the middle classes and SME owners. In this sense, a massive regularization plan will be launched, instead of controls. 200 agents will be dedicated to this. The minister also wants to implement an automatic penalty discount for the first mistake. In addition, if the administration is wrong, it must pay compensation to the taxpayer in compensation.
Creation of a fiscal COP
Finally, Bercy has set itself the goal of successfully establishing an international financial cadastre to find out who owns what, where and how. France will also propose the organization of the fiscal COP, similar to the one that already exists on climate issues.
The measures of the anti-tax evasion plan should be incorporated into the regulatory texts, the customs bill and the budget texts, but some measures may require the drafting of a text ad hoc. A second plan, this time dedicated to the fight against social fraud, will be presented at the end of May.
Source: BFM TV
