PARIS (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who is set to outline his priorities in a much-anticipated speech later on Tuesday, is planning tax measures that would boost government revenue by 15 billion to 18 billion euros ($16.71 billion-$20.06 billion). reported the newspaper Le Parisien.
Barnier’s government is under pressure to plug a hole in the finances of the euro zone’s second-largest economy, finding billions of euros in spending cuts and tax increases to finalize a state budget for 2025 and hand it over to lawmakers in mid-October.
“Barnier is expected to propose several levers to achieve this goal,” Le Parisien reported, without citing sources, saying Barnier’s plans include raising another 8 billion euros through taxes on companies and imposing another 3 billion euros in levies on energy companies and share buyback.
The plans also include a significant increase in income taxes for top earners, which would bring in about 3 billion euros, and raising electricity taxes by another 3 billion euros, the newspaper said.
The report also suggested that Barnier intends to delay France’s achievement of the eurozone’s common 3% deficit target until 2029 from 2027.
Barnier’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said last week that the hole in public finances was worse than expected, with the budget deficit at risk of topping 6% of economic output, well above the 5.1% estimated by the previous government in the spring.
Barnier is to deliver his general policy speech before France’s National Assembly at 1300 GMT.
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(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)