Can Nupes divulge certain tax secrets if it obtains the presidency of the finance commission?

Is tax secrecy threatened? According to Eric Woerth, the arrival of an insubordinate Nupes-La France deputy to the presidency of the finance committee leaves him fearful. In Le Figaroon June 21, the former Minister of the Budget shared his opinion on the question: “The Insoumis obviously have in mind to carry out tax audits”, he worried.

The deputy from Oise (ex-LR defector Renaissance), who was at the head of this commission during the previous term of office, underlines that its president controls “the action of the government and public policies”, his role is not not “to take an interest in the files of each other, individuals and households, like businesses”. “I don’t prefer an RN to an FI, don’t make me say that,” he also said. I am not an extremist. I am simply saying that the Insoumis obviously have in mind to carry out tax audits. What I did not hear at the RN. »

Words that outraged the camp of the New Popular, Ecological and Social Union (Nupes). Eric Coquerel, Nupes-LFI candidate for the presidency of this commission, said he was “appalled” on Sud Radio on June 24. In a tweet shared more than 1,000 times, an Internet user attacks Eric Woerth: “When the hiding Woerth admits that the NUPES is dangerous because it risks doing the job at the Finance Commission, the French have all the cards in hand to understand how our institutions have been hijacked over the past 5 years”. “Who scares tax evaders and evaders? asks Antoine Léaument, new deputy for Essonne Nupes-LFI. The Nupes, not the RN. »

FAKE OFF

The presidency of this commission, often described as prestigious, will be awarded by a vote scheduled for Thursday, June 30. The majority traditionally does not take part in it, leaving the oppositions to organize themselves since 2009. Once elected, the chairman of the finance committee and the general rapporteur have several prerogatives: they have the power to check on documents and on the spot, unexpectedly, all aspects of the budget, of the public expenditure of the State. The president can also object to parliamentary amendments under article 40 of the Constitution, if he deems that these will increase expenditure or reduce state revenue.

The president and the general rapporteur can both request the tax files of companies or individuals as part of their law review and control missions. They are, however, required to respect tax secrecy, provided for by article L 103 of the book of tax procedures. For Gilles Carrez, former LR deputy and chairman of the finance committee between 2012 and 2017, the question of tax secrecy is “the key subject”, he explains to 20 minutes. “Tax secrecy is dynamite, and you have to be extremely responsible,” he says. It is a fundamental element in a democratic country. »

“It can be tempting to organize leaks”

It happened to him to be communicated some files of company, never of private individuals. “When the chairman of the commission or the general rapporteur requests the communication of a file, they are like an agent of the tax services, they cannot in any case report it publicly, underlines Gilles Carrez. This power allows them to discuss with the tax services, in no case to work with journalists. If the disclosure is proven, the person held incommunicado can be sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros, according to article 226-13 of the penal code.

“The fear that we may have, as LFI is constantly involved in politics and has an extremely strong ideological content, is that it may be tempting to organize leaks”, considers Gilles Carrez, indicating that the risk “does not should be neither underestimated nor overestimated”. “Throwing away the tax files of individuals or even companies is the beginning of totalitarianism”, he assures, seeing in it “a perverse gear”.

“We are not going to organize a witch hunt”

For Eric Coquerel, it is scandalous to accuse Nupes of such intentions. “The chairman of the finance committee can lift tax secrecy, not make it public, he reminds 20 minutes. It’s obvious that we’re not going to use it to organize a witch hunt. He sees it as a scare maneuver, “the equivalent of Russian tanks in 1981”.

For the deputy of Seine-Saint-Denis, the presidency of the finance committee will make it possible to “carry out specialized parliamentary commissions of inquiry on certain subjects which were not those put forward in the last five-year period and, from there , to get information that can be valuable”. He gives the example of “tax optimization issues” and cites the agreement established between the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office and McDonald’s on June 16. The restaurant giant has agreed to pay 1.25 billion euros in France and thus escapes criminal prosecution for tax evasion between 2009 and 2020.

“It could be on files, not leaked in the press, but which deserve to be made public by a parliamentary commission of inquiry”, he believes. This presidency must be “a counter-power”, he underlines. “Assuming political divisions does not mean totalitarianism, it means democracy”, he still defends.