A special law to allow the State to ensure the continuity of public services in the absence of a budget voted in time for the year 2025. The text, prepared by the resigning Minister of the Budget following the censorship of Michel Barnier's government, must be presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, December 11, and debated in the National Assembly on Monday.
Problem: this law does not provide for indexing the income tax scale to inflation, as initially planned by the government in its finance bill. Without this measure, income tax risks increasing by 2.6 billion euros in 2025, and affecting 380,000 households who were not previously taxable, calculated the French Observatory of Economic Conditions . In other words, taxes could automatically increase.
Guest of CNews, Tuesday December 3, the National Rally deputy of the Somme Jean-Philippe Tanguy assured that it was technically possible to table an amendment to the special law to ensure this indexation, and thus “protect all middle and working class taxpayers from an unfair increase in income”. The MP cited a precedent dating from 1979 to support his point. Eric Coquerel, deputy for La France insoumise and president of the Assembly's finance committee, said he was ready to table such an amendment on Sunday on franceinfo.
For his part, the resigning Minister of the Budget Laurent Saint-Martin affirmed Monday on TF1 that such an amendment would not be consistent with the Constitution. “There were amendments that were already tabled in 1979 on this: it is unconstitutional. It was then, it still is today”he decided, ensuring that such a measure would necessarily have to be voted on in the new 2025 budget. So, what does the law really say? Franceinfo interviewed several specialists in constitutional law in order to see more clearly.
The discussions dating from 1979 on this subject, mentioned by Jean-Philippe Tanguy, do exist in the archives of Parliament. In December 1979, a modification of the income tax scale was debated in both parliamentary chambers. The National Assembly and the Senate ultimately decided to reject these modifications, but on a substantive basis. “At no time did the deputies and senators say to themselves that this measure would be inadmissible due to the nature of the law”specifies to franceinfo Sacha Sydoryk, lecturer in public law at the University of Picardie Jules-Verne.
However, there has been change since 1979. As noted by the specialized media Les Surligneurs, the organic law relating to finance laws (Lolf) of 2001 clarified the framework for the discussion of laws relating to the budget. Thus, the special bill authorizes the State “to collect existing taxes until the vote on the finance law of the year”. But does it allow changes to the tax rules? For Sacha Sydorik, the text is not clear enough to have a sufficiently clear-cut answer: it all depends on whether a strict or broad interpretation is adopted.
“There are two possibilities. The first consists of considering that the special finance law can only contain the article which authorizes the levying of already existing taxes, that is to say levying income tax with the scale of 2024. In this first hypothesis, it is not possible to amend ” the text, expose Sacha Sydoryk. “We can also consider that this special bill must at least contain this article, but can be amended.” In this case, it would be possible to modify it, for example to integrate the indexation of the income tax scale to inflation.
Tuesday, December 10, the Council of State issued an opinion on its interpretation of this specific point of the Lolf, as well as on the constitutionality of this specific measure within the framework of a special law. The court considers that “new tax measures” not being considered as “necessary to ensure the continuity of national life, do not fall within the scope of the special law”. Thus, she considers that indexation is not part of the measures “having their place in special law”because it exceeds “the authorization to continue to collect these taxes”.
A strict reading shared by Anne-Charlène Bezzina, lecturer in public law at the University of Rouen (Seine-Maritime) and author of This Constitution which protects us. “The special law must bridge the gap between that which has not been adopted and that which will be adopted [en 2025]. It reproduces what exists, period. There is no room for politics. In any case, this is the spirit of the editors of Lolf. analyzes the constitutionalist.
On this subject, the Council of State, however, only has an advisory role: it provides legal opinions to the government and Parliament. It is the Constitutional Council which is able to decide on the constitutionality or not of an amendment on the indexation of income tax.
“It is not certain that the Council will be seized”estimates Sacha Sydoryk. The request for review of the constitutionality of a law can be made by four authorities: the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the President of the Senate and the President of the National Assembly. This right of referral is extended to 60 deputies or 60 senators. “If it is seized, it could let the addition of this amendment pass, considering that it is a minor violation, or necessary, by giving a relatively broad interpretation of the Lolf”anticipates the doctor of law.
