The 2023 anti-fraud policy!

Announced since January 2023, it is in May that the Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal presented its plan to fight against all public finance fraud, whether they are customs, tax or social.

In this article we will therefore present in detail all the key upcoming measures!

Anti-fraud plan, what is it based on?

On October 23, 2018, the law relating to the fight against fraud was promulgated which intends to strengthen the fight against tax, social and customs fraud. At that time, the government's objective was clear: better detect and apprehend fraud and better sanction it!

Consequently, numerous actions were mentioned in order to strengthen the means of detection, characterization and sanction of fraud such as:

• The lifting of “Bercy lock”, which planned to automatically transmit all the most serious tax fraud cases to the public prosecutor.
• The creation of the joint liability regime for online platforms in matters of VAT.
• The ban on the French Development Agency financing projects with a co-financier established in a non-cooperative State or territory.
• The implementation of a logic of broader publicity of sanctions in the event of tax fraud

Other actions have also been put in place and it is thanks to the work carried out by the Senate that today the plan to combat all public finance fraud has seen the light of day!

Fight against public finance fraud, encouraging progress since 2018!

According to the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, the results for 2022 confirm real progress compared to previous years.

Indeed, following the Press release published in February, highlighting all the advances in the fight against public finance fraud, we were able to note that the overall amount of evaded taxes collected amounted to 14.6 billion euros. Which compared to the year 2021 is 1.2 billion euros higher (8.2 1TP3Q).

The tax police, set up following the law of October 23, 2018, were notified of 48 files. This increase of 7% compared to 2021 confirms the effectiveness of the law. »

The judicial authority, within the framework of compulsory denunciations, was sent

1,373 files in 2022, representing a total of 659 million euros in recalled duties. This figure was slightly lower than in 2021 and 2020 with 1,217 and 823 files processed.

The fight against social fraud is also progressing compared to other years, in particular with the URSSAF which has more than doubled the amount of adjustments made over ten years, increasing from 320 million in 2013 to 788 million in 2022.

The CAF also detected total damage of 351 million euros, i.e. 8 more % since 2017.

All of this data proves that the law of October 23, 2018, including the numerous contributions from the Senate, is working. However, according to Gabriel Attal and the government, even if these results are encouraging, other actions must be put in place in order to reduce and deter as much as possible attempts.

Fight against tax and customs fraud: the four actions to remember!

It is with the aim of changing things that Gabriel Attal unveiled a first part of its plan on May 9, 2023, starting with actions against tax and customs fraud. Here are the actions to remember from this first part:

• Increase in the number of tax audits of individuals by 25% by 2027, particularly on large assets. The objective of this action according to Gabriel Attal is to concentrate the effort on multinationals or the “ultra-rich” and to alleviate the pressure exerted on the middle classes and the bosses of SMEs in order to give them a little oxygen.

The government also announces, for the largest groups, a strengthening of controls and emphasizes that the implementation of electronic invoicing should increase the amount of revenue collected.

• The government plans a increase of 15% of tax audit staff by the end of the five-year term. In addition, a tax intelligence unit will be created within the national directorate of government and customs investigations. The number of tax police will also be doubled from 2025.
• Assessment of tax fraud avoided by the DGFIP (General Directorate of Public Finances), with presentation of an annual objective to parliament. Already being the subject of public evaluations in many countries, it therefore had to be in France.
• Toughening of the criminal response against the most serious frauds. Gabriel Attal wishes to set up general interest work, against people found guilty of tax fraud. The government is currently studying the idea of creating a tax indignity sanction, which would deprive convicted persons of the right to receive tax reductions and tax credits over a long period.

Fight against social fraud, big changes to come?

After disclosing his plan against tax and customs fraud, Gabriel Attal attacked social fraud ! Rated between 6 and 8 billion euros per year according to the Court of Auditors, the minister has given himself a maximum of 10 years to make changes. The first deadline is in 2027 with a wish to have twice as many results as in 2022. To achieve this, a panel of actions was announced on Tuesday May 30.

Here are the ones to know!

• Forecast of a reform of social contributions for microentrepreneurs working on platforms such as Uber or Deliveroo. According to the government, many of them under-declare their income, leading to an estimated €800 million in undeclared turnover for these self-employed workers. From 2026, platforms will be required to communicate the turnover of microentrepreneurs to Urssaf in order to remedy this situation. In the meantime, a mechanism for the amicable regularization of social debts will be put in place in 2024.
• Merger of the vital card and the identity card. To fight against fraud in the rental of a vital card, allowing you to benefit from free care, a potential merger between the identity card and the vital card will be examined.
• Association of citizens in policies to combat health benefits fraud. At the end of 2023, the health insurance website will offer the possibility of filing a report in the event of identity theft or overbilling for care.

By 2025, every French person will be able to receive via the Ameli mobile application, a notification of health costs billed in his name. These actions will allow the government and citizens to fight together.

• Strengthening of residence conditions to benefit from social benefits. 9 months of the year in France will be necessary to be able to benefit from family allowances, minimum old age or even APL.
• Checks on retirees over 85 living outside European borders. 1 million pensions are paid abroad, half of which are outside Europe. The experiment carried out since September in Algeria has proven that out of 1000 files studied, 300 were non-compliant.

To better identify those who have died, but whose relatives are still receiving benefits, Gabriel Attal decided to check these people's places of residence.

A word from the Fin’team

It is therefore with budgetary, dissuasive and repressive objectives that the government and Gabriel Attal have unveiled these different plans to fight against all public finance fraud.

At Finovox, we also have our own objective, that of fighting against documentary fraud and we are committed to providing our customers with turnkey solution allowing them to reduce the volume of fraud experienced in their business.

If you would like more information about our solution. Contact our experts!