Vers une réforme fiscale en France ?

Tax reform is a major subject of current debates on the French economy. Yet, such a reform could have different, and possibly, opposite targets. The various reforms that could be implemented are presented in this article. Given the current situation of the French economy, a tax reform could neither include a significant increase in taxes, nor a cut in employers' taxation balanced with an increase in households' taxes. One of the specificities of the French tax system is the low level of taxes on personal income, counterbalanced by a high level of employers and employees' social security contributions. The analysis of the whole tax and redistribution system indicates that the level of redistribution of the current system is rather satisfactory. Thus, a major revision of the income tax system is hardly possible, if one refuses to increase the higher marginal tax rates or to reduce the poorest people's allowances. However, taxes on households' financial capital income should be heavier. All in all, taxes on labour are heavy (considering employers' and employees' social security contributions, income tax and VAT). When the rate of unemployment is high, the cost of labour as evaluated by firms is three times the real cost at the national level. Then a significant cut in the employers' social security contributions on the lowest wages should take place. Such a measure should not be immediately counterbalanced by an increase in taxes : an increase in the VAT rate would keep inchanged the labour cost ; an increase in the rate of the generalised social contribution or a cut in social allowances would be dangerous for it would reduce the level of consumption. However, if the measure did not entail significant job creations, an increase in taxes on profits should compensate for it. The financing of the Social security system should be restructured so as to weigh less on low wages and more on personal and corporate capital income.