Finally the money of the State falls less

Rarely general advice, preparing their 2009 budget, have been confronted with also painful arbitrations. "The situation is very hard." "To be play on all the levers to find margins of manoeuvre", is alarm t - on the Assembly of the departments of France (ADF). Its President, Socialist Claudy Lebreton has the tone recently referring to "a remedy to a tax increase." But this simply will not, except to bludgeon the taxpayer. Many executives, under the accumulation of stress, fear of cut in subsidies to the Commons, to spread a part of their investments and trim expenses also.

On this last point, the departments have little latitude. Three quarters of their spending (62 billion euros in 2007 with Paris) are of mandatory skills and over two-thirds of those in operation pass in their social policies, their sovereign domain. Near-vertical takeoff (277 million in 2007 compared with 81.6 million in 2006) of the new benefit to compensate for the handicap (PCH), the pace still (4.5 billion in 2007 from $ 4.2 billion in 2006) in which progresses the Allocation personalized autonomy (APA) and the uncertainties on the final cost of the revenue of active solidarity (RSA), which must replace the RMI (more than 6 billion euros) next yearsubmit the departmental finance a formidable scissor effect. General advice resources do not move at the same pace as their spending.

Margins of manoeuvre limited

Economic crisis requires, the income on which they had taken the habit of starting them are false bond. The collapse of real estate, more pronounced than expected, they will be losing EUR 750 million this year, in respect of the rights of mutation (DMTO) that they see (more than 7 billion euros in 2007). "We tablions in the spring on a decline of 5 from 2007." "We are at 10 and expect the same decline in 2009," said an expert from the ADF. Today, the recession deprives the departments of this "pear for thirst." And it is not the TIPP (internal tax on petroleum products), including a new fraction will be vested, which will be a great relief. This tax is very dynamic.

With regard to direct local taxes, the margins of manoeuvre are more limited, or even zero for tax professional (TP). Its product progresses through the dynamism of the bases but part returns to companies since the new rules on their Cap. Last year, the departments have paid them 270 million and for 2008 their co-payments will be $ 324 million.

Finally, the money of the State falls less. The draft finance law for 2009, which limits to predictive inflation (or 2) the progress of its holdings to local communities and alter the perimeter (integration of the FCTVA in the standardized envelope), results in a shortfall of 250 million. In the future, the State should not be more generous as these new rules of the game run through 2012. It argues that the departments are recovering to borrow. But the financial crisis has changed the equation. Banks have become less lending and interest rates go up sharply.