the president of the Court of Auditors questioned on the reform of dock dues | EUROtoday

By revealing the plaque “remarkable heritage site” on the entrance to Château Lauratet, a luxurious nineteenth century Creole villa^e century, seat of the regional chamber of accounts of Reunion, Pierre Moscovici appreciates, Friday March 29, his solely second of respite. As the primary president of the Court of Auditors soberly says, the report of the important monetary jurisdiction on dock dues, revealed originally of the month, “invited himself” within the agenda of his journey to this division of the Indian Ocean.

The conventional protocol visits to elected officers have been reworked into classes “necessary text explanations” of the report, which brought on an uproar. Because the doc recommends a profound reform of this tax inherited from the seventeenth^e century on imported merchandise massively financing abroad native authorities. The president of the regional council, Huguette Bello (varied left), described it as “real ukase” by condemning a “partial, biased and oriented analysis”.

Rather than the phrase “reform”virtually all native elected officers have heard “deletion”. No doubt as a result of the federal government is contemplating its alternative by a regional VAT included within the 2025 finance invoice. In 2022, the dock dues generated 1.64 billion euros for the 5 abroad departments, together with 600 million euros in Reunion.

Tax “too little transparent”

“I was struck by the number of simplifications, caricatures, reductions in the ambient air”, notes Pierre Moscovici, repeating tirelessly for 2 days that “no, the Court of Auditors did not propose its destruction, its replacement by a regional VAT, or say that the dock dues were the main factor in the cost of living.”

This tax, thought-about as ” breathless ” And “too little transparent” by the Court of Auditors, have to be the topic of a brand new request for approval in 2027 earlier than the European Commission. And “it is better to come forward with a reformed tax”, insists the previous European Commissioner for Taxation (2014-2019) by advising “an intelligent and concerted path” quite than “brutality or the status quo”.

The Court of Auditors n / A “no hidden political agenda”, additional replied Pierre Moscovici to an elected official who had questioned the independence of the jurisdiction and castigated its “complicity with the government”.

“Protection of local economic activity”

One of the criticisms that goes down poorly amongst Reunionese elected officers is that this tax doesn’t finance funding sufficient however is earmarked at 75% within the working budgets of communities. “These are expenses that go into social, schools, sport, culture, defends Ericka Bareigts, the mayor of Saint-Denis de La Réunion (PS), saying she is frightened by the 10 billion euros in savings that the government intends to make in 2024. Here, 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. This expenditure contributes to the development of Reunion Island and ensures a local public service.”

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