towards taxation of 8%?

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Meal vouchers could cost businesses more. An employer contribution of 8% on the amount of each restaurant ticket is the government’s project. A customer benefits from this, 10 euros per day, which she often uses in a bakery. “It’s an advantage, but we still pay part of it”she says.

Like her, 5.5 million French employees benefit from these tickets allocated by their employers. “I think that if there is a tax, there will surely be reluctance on the part of employers to be as generous as they are today”fears a passer-by interviewed.

This contribution paid by bosses would undoubtedly have an impact on employees, according to a specialist. “We take the risk that companies act by saying: I am going to increase the coverage by the employee so that it does not cost 8% more, but perhaps 4 or 5% more. Otherwise, it is not bearable,” explains Benoît Serre from Cercle Humania – a collective of Human Resources Directors.

This could also have an impact in certain businesses. In a bakery, meal vouchers represent 30% of turnover. “Every time we touch tickets, there is an impact, like when they went more and more digital compared to paper. If there is additional taxation, there will be a negative effect on our turnover”regrets Gaetan Pichard, manager of the Les Frères Chapelier bakery.

The government views these benefits as a form of income that must be collected like wages. Employer contributions could also affect holiday vouchers and gift vouchers, all of which could bring in nearly a billion euros, according to the government.