Opinion on the first amending budget bill for the year 2017

This amending budget bill’s purpose is, on the word of the Government, to take into account the financial consequences of the Constitutional Council’s invalidation published on 6 October 2017, of the 3 % contribution on dividends put in place by the amending budget law n° 2012-958 on 16 August 2012 (and modified by several amending budget laws since then). The Government estimates that the litigation represents “an extra cost for the State’s budget of about 10 billion €” (including interests) which will weigh equally on 2017 and 2018, reaching 5 billion € each year. In order to offset this extra cost in 2017, the Government plans a “one-off and temporary contribution on corporate tax, bringing about 5 billion €” in 2017.

In the amending budget bill’s introductory article, the Government states, “given the urgency in this measure’s preparation, it was not possible to update spending and revenue estimates with regards to the year-end budget scheme”.

This choice makes this amending budget bill peculiar. It solely focuses on the consequences of the Constitutional Council’s decision and on a new one-off contribution. Furthermore, unlike usual amending budget bills, it does not take into account the recent developments observed in the economic situation or the 2017 revenues and expenditure updates since the presentation of the 2018 budget bill.