1 million which is to remove the first tranche of EWB

If close to the presidential election, debate on the taxation of the heritage may less aim to increase the competitiveness of the France to meet the right-wing electorate and to deprive the opposition, with the end of the tax shield, a widely used argument since 2007. François Baroin must bring together the work of the parliamentary majority group, Tuesday, to prepare a large x-ray of the heritage of the French. "Les echos" open, with Economist Camille Landais (read below), a series of interviews on this topic.

The Minister of the Budget may say that everything is on the table, the debate is quite justified. The first certainty is that the Government wants to end the tax shield, which politically overshadows everything what could be done, on the other hand, for the middle classes. The removal of the tax on capital (EUR 4 billion), although that advocated by many parliamentarians, is much less certain. Given budgetary constraints, some in Government sought rather to correct the characteristics of the ISF more shocking in the eyes of the French.

The threshold in question

Wrongly or rightly, this is not the ISF (0.55 to 1.8) rate which takes the discussion for the time being in the majority, but taxation of principal residence. She may represent 15 of the paid EWB, it gives the feeling that the owners are superimposed, being already affected by the tax and property taxes. Nicolas Sarkozy, who dreams of a France of owners, is sensitive to this argument: he already noted from 20 to 30 discount to the principal residence in 2007. UMP elected officials want to go further: they argue for a full exemption (600 million). It would benefit to smaller subject (first tranche), for which the principal residence represents a quarter of the ISF.

But the full exemption is a legal risk. In September, the Constitutional Council had indicated that the income-producing assets should not be the only subject to the ISF. The principal residence would therefore justify not preferential treatment. Otherwise, the Minister of the Budget raised the possibility to raise the threshold of 790.000 EUR 1.1 million, which is to remove the first tranche of EWB. The measure would have merit, to reduce the number of subject more of half (300,000 to 550,000).

But "this lower slice speaks less to the French as the main residence", is Gilles Carrez, who would like to apply a full exemption of principal residence within the limit of 400,000 or 500,000 euros, and maintain the reduction of 30 beyond. Others, such as Senator Philippe Marini, argue for the reduction of 30 to 50 (or EUR 300 million).

These proposals does not address the issue of high heritage, likely to leave the France. For them, Bercy plans to reinstate the cap of Lai and income to 70 of the income tax. A measure that could hardly be criticized by the left, since it is that it was established in 1989. The idea developed in practice, in 1996 delete the Government CAP to prevent that caps reduce tax (sum of the ISF and the IR) of more than half.