The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the establishment of a two-euro tax targeting “small parcels” with a value of less than 150 euros of non-European origin, which would be used to finance a system to control these products. 208 deputies against 87 approved the measures proposed by the government as part of the examination of the first reading of the state budget. The RN voted against, the left, the government coalition and the Ciottist group UDR, an ally of Marine Le Pen, in favour.
The move sparked heated debate, with the National Rally denouncing “a tax on the consumption of the people and the middle class”, while Minister Amélie de Montchalin (Public Accounts) defended the “fee” intended to control often “harmful” products.
This discussion occurred when the Chinese online trading platform, Shein, came under fire for allegedly selling many non-compliant and prohibited products. “This is not a tax to prevent unfair competition in China, it is a tax on popular and middle class consumption,” denounced lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy (RN).
500 million euros is expected
“To make the French believe that by taxing small packages you will be able to increase the number of checks significantly is to mock the world,” added the group’s president, Marine Le Pen, stressing that “last year, 0.125% of packages were checked”.
La France insoumise also said it was concerned about the impact of the tax on consumers, demanding to protect them that platforms be taxed directly and not the package, and threatened to vote against the measure. The government proposed an amendment intended to address this issue, by allowing taxes to be paid through a “VAT pipeline”, which is “supported by the platform”. This convinced LFI to support the government’s proposal.
The tax will raise around 500 million euros, which Amélie de Montchalin said is intended to finance the purchase of scanners to inspect packages and the hiring of customs officers. He welcomed the fact that France implemented taxes “from January 1”, like Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, nine months earlier than other EU countries.
“Those who tonight did not vote for this tax (…) have not voted for France, they have not voted for our traders, they will vote for China and its submarines,” he muttered. He also recalled that EU finance ministers last week agreed to eliminate the import duty exemption enjoyed by these small packages.
