Water in the gas within the executive. Controversy erupted over the weekend, with discordant statements from several prominent political figures. It all started on Friday when the Minister of Ecology, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, raised the possibility of an increase in gas through a government amendment to the draft budget. Defending the idea of greener taxation, she mentioned, during the presentation of the finance bill, the need to align the taxation of fossil fuels with climate issues. According to her, it is a question of preventing carbon-based energies such as gas from becoming cheaper and more competitive than carbon-free solutions, referring to electricity mainly of nuclear origin in France, which she, should be taxed more as provided for in the 2025 finance bill.
Behind this tax debate lies a major environmental issue. Taxing gas, a fossil fuel that emits CO2, is considered by some to be a necessary measure to encourage the energy transition. The government seeks to reduce the country’s carbon footprint, by encouraging households and businesses to turn to greener solutions, such as electricity, which in France is mainly produced from low-carbon sources, notably nuclear power. “The challenge is also to work on brown niches through the increase in the automobile penalty, through the elimination of the reduced VAT rate of 5.5% on the installation of fossil fuel boilers and finally, through government amendment, through an increase in taxation on plane tickets and gas», which contributes to global warming, declared the minister.
“The Prime Minister does not hold back anything”
The Minister of the Economy, Antoine Armand, cast doubt on Sunday during his intervention on BFMTV. Although he stressed that this measure did not appear in the initial finance bill, he clarified that the parliamentary debate could introduce amendments in this sense: “The Prime Minister does not hold back anything“, he declared, returning the ball to Parliament. A statement which sowed confusion, because a few hours earlier, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon had firmly ruled out this possibility. According to her, a “arbitrage» of Prime Minister Michel Barnier had already ruled out such an option. She also recalled that taxes on gas had already doubled in January 2024, after the removal of the price shield introduced in 2021 to protect consumers in the face of the explosion in energy prices. The Minister of the Budget, Laurent Saint-Martin, clearly expressed his disagreement with this proposal, affirming that “not be in favor of it».
Every year, 400,000 people are affected by the increase in taxes on gas boilers
Consequences for consumers?
The possibility of an increase in gas taxes is raising concerns about the impact on household bills. After several years of sharp increases in energy prices, particularly in 2022 and 2023, the removal of the price shield has already led to a significant increase for consumers in 2024. A further increase in taxation could weigh even more heavily on consumers. households, even though many are already struggling to meet energy-related expenses.
This increase would come in a context where the government is seeking to reduce the electricity bill for households. Indeed, the finance bill provides for a 9% reduction for subscribers to EDF’s regulated tariff, who represent around 76% of French households. However, the question arises as to whether this reduction in the electricity bill could compensate for a possible increase in the cost of gas for households who use this energy.
