the Constitutional Council censors tax benefits for worldwide sports activities federations | EUROtoday

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Final reading, at the National Assembly, of the finance bill for 2024, in Paris, December 19, 2023.

Thousands of amendments examined, lots of of hundreds of thousands of euros in extra spending, a couple of political setbacks, 5 49.3s and a censure from the Constitutional Council. Three months to the day after its presentation to the press within the giant room of the Hôtel des Ministers in Bercy, the finance invoice for 2024 accomplished its annual marathon, Thursday, December 28, on a barely disagreeable word for the ‘govt.

The Constitutional Council, referred to the textual content by elected officers from the Les Républicains celebration and the New Ecological and Social Popular Union, censored article 31, launched by a authorities modification to exempt from taxes the worldwide sports activities federations acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee and their workers domiciled in France for 5 years.

This preferential regime, granted within the identify of France’s attractiveness and which significantly focused FIFA, was deemed opposite to the precept of equality earlier than the legislation and earlier than public places of work. By reserving it just for federations acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee, the manager didn’t base itself on goal and rational standards with regard to the purpose of attractiveness that it was pursuing. “We take note of the decision of the Council [constitutionnel] regarding this article which was intended to strengthen the attractiveness of France to locate international sports federations there”, Bercy communicated on Thursday.

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Apart from this device with high political stakes on which the Council of State had already alerted the executive, the judges also considered that the article which allocates the funds from the Livret A to the financing of the defense industry had not not its place in a finance law, but the rest of the text obtained the green light from the constitutional judge.

Even more than the previous ones, the 2024 draft budget should be that of the exit of the “ whatever it costs » inherited from the health crisis, and the “ end of abundance » theorized by Emmanuel Macron, in an environment that remains uncertain – rising interest rates, still high inflation and European budgetary rules again in force after being suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mark of an economy under inflation

The text partly keeps its promise: the bulk of the 16 billion euros in savings it contains comes from the cessation of anti-inflation crisis measures – price shield on gas, gradual reduction of the shield on electricity , end of aid schemes for energy-intensive companies. Of the 10 to 15 billion euros in savings promised in mid-June during the “public finance meetings” in Bercy, and anticipated in well being, employment and even housing, only a few have been achieved.

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https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2023/12/28/budget-2024-le-conseil-constitutionnel-censure-les-avantages-fiscaux-pour-les-federations-sportives-internationales_6208137_823448.html