Government's plan to levy taxes on illicit drug earnings
In an interview with Le Parisien on August 2, 2020, Catherine Vautrin, France's Minister of Labour and Health, outlined the key points of an upcoming anti-social fraud bill. This bill, expected to be unveiled this fall, aims to combat the estimated €13 billion in social fraud in France each year.
The social fraud Vautrin refers to includes illicit benefit claims, fraudulent sick leave, and misuse of medical transport services. To address this issue, the bill includes several strategic measures.
Firstly, Vautrin plans to tighten controls on health and social benefits by tracking "abusive" sick leave and verifying medical transport usage via geolocation technology. Additionally, electronic monitoring tools will be implemented to debit bank accounts directly in cases of identified fraud.
The bill also strengthens data access to cross-check financial and social benefit information, enabling more precise detection of fraudulent activity. With 25 articles, the bill is designed to reduce fraud without undermining support for legitimate beneficiaries.
Vautrin believes that social fraud undermines the social model funded by honest contributors and calls for a rigorous response to protect public resources. The bill reflects her stance that it's crucial to target French drug traffickers' wallets to make up for the social fraud.
One of the measures proposed in the bill is the taxation of drug trafficking profits, which is currently taxed as industrial and commercial profits, according to a Council of State ruling from 1981. However, Vautrin wants to go beyond this current taxation, aiming to target French drug traffickers' wallets more directly.
The anti-social fraud bill is one of the key points outlined by Vautrin in her interview with Le Parisien, and it is expected to be a significant step in combating social fraud in France.
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