France Targets 2025 Budget Deficit at 5.4%, Plans Special Tax on Companies

Jan 6, 2025, 06:48 AM

France's budget deficit for 2025 is projected to be between 5% and 5.5% of GDP, with a specific target of 5.4%, according to Finance Minister Eric Lombard and Budget Minister Amélie de Montchalin. The government aims to reduce the deficit progressively, with a target of bringing it below 3% of GDP by 2029. Efforts to achieve this include cost-saving measures, maintaining certain taxes such as those on large companies, stock buybacks, and a special tax on the biggest companies, while avoiding new taxes on the middle class. Montchalin emphasized the need for compromise among political parties to pass the budget, while Lombard described the budgetary situation as serious. The deficit for 2024 is expected to be around 6.1%, highlighting the challenges in achieving these fiscal goals.