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The profit records for CAC 40 companies are directly linked to public aid obtained during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather than favoring the path of savings, the taxation of “superprofits” must therefore be seriously considered, according to two professors of economics and finance at EM Lyon.
When the finance law was adopted in December, use of article 49.3 allowed the government to remove an amendment introduced by the finance committee aimed at taxing “superdividends” from large companies. Bruno Le Maire remained consistent with the position expressed at the Medef University in 2022: “I don’t know what superprofit is.”
Today, to face the slowdown in growth, announced on Sunday February 18, and the foreseeable drop in tax revenue, he boasts of showing courage (sic) by favoring spending savings (10 billion) rather than tax increases.
Consistency and courage? Even. The Court of Auditors estimates the cost of state aid to businesses to deal with the 2020 crisis linked to Covid-19 and the 2022 energy crisis at 92.4 billion euros. In other words, the government places the negative financial consequences of recent shocks on the state budget for the private sector, but allows businesses to benefit from the positive financial fallout. While some have been victims of this turbulence, others have benefited greatly from it. In 2021, CAC 40 companies broke the profit record with a staggering €174 billion.