According to the socialists, this measure aims «very large companies which took advantage of the succession of crises” and continued to “pay dividends at record levels».
The National Assembly adopted a tax on super-dividends from very large companies on Thursday, with left-wing deputies continuing to reshape the state budget with sometimes the votes of the National Rally in a hemicycle neglected by the government camp. This additional tax concerns companies which have a turnover greater than or equal to one billion euros and which distribute dividends exceeding by 20% the average of dividends distributed over the previous five years. The fraction which exceeds this 20% is then taxed at 5%.
These socialist, rebellious, communist and environmentalist amendments were widely adopted (145 votes for, 37 against), thanks to the addition of the votes of the left and the RN, against those of the government camp. According to the socialists, this tax aims “the very large companies which have benefited from the succession of crises” and continued to “paying dividends at record levels”citing in particular «BNP Paribas, Sanofi, Axa, LVMH, or Total». Super dividends “only serve to inflate financial bubbles and enrich a few”defended LFI deputy Aurélien Le Coq during the debates.
Macronist MP Pierre Cazeneuve deplored a measure likely to penalize shareholders and French companies in a globalized system. Businesses “will pay more dividends to ensure the same return to their shareholders and therefore invest less”producing «l’exact inverse»he also pleaded. Budget rapporteur Charles de Courson issued an unfavorable opinion, arguing that a similar measure adopted in 2017 had been annulled after notably an appeal to the European Court of Justice: “These amendments are Euro-incompatible, we can regret that” more “if you vote for it, it will happen again” the same.
Earlier, the deputies adopted an LFI amendment aimed at making the payment of the research tax credit (CIR) conditional on a company being prohibited from relocating its activities for 10 years. They also validated a series of tax measures encouraging agricultural businesses to adopt more sustainable operating systems.
