In an interview with Le Parisien, Wednesday November 20, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Antoine Armand, warned Michel Barnier against the charges weighing on businesses, which he does not want to penalize in the coming months .
Antoine Armand supports businesses. In an interview published by The ParisianWednesday November 20, the Minister of the Economy and Finance put pressure on Prime Minister Michel Barnier after the Senate's reduction of reductions in employer contributions in the Social Security budget. “Beware of excess tax! Businesses should not be the adjustment variable“, warned the tenant of Bercy.
“My political family carries a message: it is not by hitting businesses and increasing the cost of labor that we create jobs and growth.“, insisted Antoine Armand to our colleagues. “The EPR group is right to insist: we must go as far as possible to preserve contribution reductions“, continued the member of the government, while the prospect of an increase in the mobility payment, an employer contribution to the financing of public transport, is making its way onto the benches of the National Assembly.
Antoine Armand also delivered a clear opinion on the general situation of tax measures against businesses. “Many proposals have been made to the Assembly, too often with the objective of taxing more and spending more. However, we are already a country which taxes too much, which spends too much, and which does not work enough“, he pointed out. Before asserting that returning to the economic policy pursued by Emmanuel Macron since 2017 would be a “fundamental error“.
An outing that makes you react
The position taken by the Minister of the Economy was welcomed on X by the head of the EPR deputies and former Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal: “Fair and responsible interview with Minister Antoine Armand. […] We continue to defend the competitiveness of our economy in the service of employment. Alternative paths to increasing charges exist.”
Antoine Armand's comments on the increase in the mobility payment also provoked a reaction from the Minister Delegate in charge of Transport, François Durovray. “If there is a tax that is useful to businesses, it is this one. I know the business leaders. They know very well that they have difficulty hiring because their employees have difficulty coming and need public transport. They know very well that when we allow employees to abandon the car, which is very expensive, in favor of public transport, it is the best thing for purchasing power.“, he said on RMC, Thursday November 21. Before addressing a dig at his government colleague: “We come from different political families and it’s normal for everyone to express their sensitivity, he explains. Personally, I believe that we should do it as a family and that we should not express it outside. It's a question of personality.“
