At a time when the government is looking for savings to reduce the public deficit from 2025, the Sages of rue Cambon have compiled a series of suggestions, in areas ranging from learning to ecological transition, in through purchasing power aid.
After the shocks of Covid and energy prices, the Court of Auditors considers that “the State budget must now sustainably complete its exit from the crisis” (AFP / LUDOVIC MARIN)
“Emergency”, “recovery”, then “resilience” plans… To cushion the shocks of Covid and then the surge in energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the State moved at the checkout distributing the billions. The bill will still be in 2024, since the measures resulting from “whatever it takes” have still cost more than ten billion euros over the past year.
Now, the time has come to correct the systems that are weighing down public finances.
“Presented as responses limited in time, several of these measures continue to weigh on the state budget, while the crises which justified them have generally been resolved”
notes the Court of Auditors in a report drawn up last spring, and published at the start of 2025.
Faced with expenditure that is not decreasing, the Court recommends taking action, formulating
twelve proposals which can be initiated this year, in the 2025 budget.
The expected savings are here quantified for 2027, unless otherwise stated.
Vocational training
First sector concerned: learning. “It has become essential to initiate the withdrawal of state support,” notes the Court.
THE PROPOSALS
–
Refocus aid on certain types of training at levels 3 and 4 (bac level or lower)
and to exclude companies with more than 250 employees. Expected savings: 2.8 billion euros.
-Cap the levels of support for higher education diplomas at the average cost observed for licenses and masters. Expected savings: €255M.
-Other various provisions (specific exemptions, FNE-Training, youth engagement contract, etc.) Expected savings: €913M.
Purchasing power: hardening the shock absorbers
Secondly, the Court proposes to tackle the tax adjustments made for households in the face of rising energy prices and inflation.
The Sages cite two measures whose scope and level of aid could be reduced.
THE PROPOSALS
–
Bring the kilometer tax scale associated with income tax back to its 2021 level
. Expected savings: €400M
-Lower the tax credit ceiling for
childcare costs
. Expected savings: €200M.
The third area cited by the Court is that of the agricultural and forestry sector, and the extent of aid granted within the framework of the Agriculture mission, for expected savings of €537M from 2025.
On the road to the green economy, seeking “coherence”
The systems linked to the ecological transition are also expected to evolve. The Court thus requests “consistency adjustments” between environmental objectives and the scope of greening aid.
THE PROPOSALS
–
Removal of the ecological bonus for vehicles that are too heavy
whose weight exceeds 1925 kg. Expected savings: €200M.
–
Gradual abolition of reduced taxation of non-road diesel,
which particularly benefits the construction sector. Expected savings: €701M.
The Court of Auditors also points to potential savings in the sector of culture and cultural and creative industries.
According to the Sages of Rue Cambon, the twelve savings proposals aim to eliminate measures which are no longer justified or to bring them back to parameters close or identical to those before the crisis. They would, according to the report, allow
a recurring saving of 1.54 billion euros from 2025 and 3.85 billion euros by 2027 on general budget expenditure, on the one hand, and an increase in revenue estimated at 1.15 billion euros euros on the other hand
.
Prefer precise cuts to the overall “plane”
At the end of this targeted report on the exit from the measures of the Covid era and the energy crisis, the Court recalls that the extent of possible adjustments to correct the deficit is much wider.
These proposals “are far from exhausting the field of possible structural reforms”,
notes the report.
The savings essential to reducing the public deficit must be sought as a priority through lasting reforms targeting ineffective and inefficient expenditure, in preference to general “plane” measures, thus recommends the Court.
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