The government’s efforts to combat tax evasion in France are described as “insufficient” in a parliamentary report. The report recommends increasing resources and staff for the fight against tax fraud, citing mediocre results from the anti-fraud plan presented by the executive. Special rapporteur Charlotte Leduc (LFI) estimates the amount of tax fraud in France to be between 80 to 120 billion euros and calls for massive investments in the fight against fraud.
The report emphasizes the international dimension of the fight against tax fraud and calls for France to be at the forefront of tax diplomacy. It recommends increasing the minimum tax on corporate profits to 25%, as well as addressing assets of billionaires and implementing unitary taxation for multinationals.
Concerns are raised about a drop in staff within the General Directorate of Public Finances and the need for more firmness towards tax havens and measures surrounding “transfer pricing”. The report also advocates for the use of new technologies such as data mining, while emphasizing the importance of strengthening human expertise.
Despite the use of new technologies, the report points out that the amounts collected by the tax authorities after tax audit have not significantly increased. There are concerns about the use of data mining software provided by private companies, which poses problems in terms of sovereignty and security.
This is the second annual report on tax evasion written by Charlotte Leduc, and it points out that none of the recommendations from the previous version have been implemented. The Court of Auditors has also called on the government to define a strategy for detecting tax fraud among individuals by the end of 2024, as it is an underdeveloped area of the anti-fraud plan.