4 billion which should be added penalties 1

The Government wants to give a new dimension to the fight against fiscal and social fraud. Yesterday, the Labour Minister, Brice Hortefeux, has indicated that it was preparing to "take an initiative", in collaboration with the Budget Minister, Eric Woerth, to remove the relief of loads companies practising the black work. "It can not both do not comply with the Act and apply for an effort of the taxpayer", he said on LCI, by encrypting the linked to illegal labour shortfall between 5 and 8 billion euros.

The measure is, in fact, already partially implementation: the Act of financing of social security for 2006 has opened the possibility to cancel the aid and the exemptions from contributions of companies which does not declare all of their employees. But it has allowed to retrieve only 3.7 million euros of relief in 2008.

SCIF main victim

The Government wishes to facilitate and extend the controls. A circular should be published soon to sanction companies suppressing their activity partly, i.e. those which declare all their employees but which reduces the number of hours worked. The scope of the companies is of course much wider. For the time being, the Urssaf on illegal labour controls allowed the return of EUR 108 million in 2008, is a little less than in 2007 (118 million). More than one company controlled in ten (12) is an offence.

The desire to intensify the fight against fraud does not stop at the under-reporting of the work. Yesterday, Eric Woerth has installed the national Committee to fight against fraud, which should allow to coordinate action by all concerned organizations and to increase the value of detected fraud by 10 per year. The recovered amounts reached EUR 4 billion in 2008.

A report of the Ministry of the Budget details the nature of the remedies. Tax fraud represents the vast majority of disputes. The tax authorities completed 52,000 controls last year recovered EUR 2.4 billion (which should be added penalties 1.7 billion). All of the remedies of the Urssaf represented approximately EUR 1 billion (after 1.017 in 2007). Medicare has recovered 132 EUR million in 2008 to the title of the abuse and fraud ("Les Echos" from March 6).

The unknown deterrent effect

The family allowance funds have also detected some 9,000 cases of fraud last year ( 42), for approximately 80 million euros ( 37), these figures are not yet final. This dramatic increase is notably linked to the implementation of the unique number of beneficiary (it was possible to be enrolled in several FCA previously), which allowed to 27 million euros to indus in 2008 (20.500 alerts). Pole job, on the other hand, has detected that fraud EUR 11 million in 2008, corresponding to some 2,000 individual cases and 650 unemployed involved.

Directly recovered amounts are translating the impact of all of the shares, the deterrent effect is unknown to global fraud alleged also very difficult to assess (it would be between 29 and 40 billion euros, according to the Council of compulsory).

The fight against fraud allows, for example, reduce retirement benefits to be paid in the years to come to the title of the departures before 60 year long career. "It is a source of significant fraud." "There is lot of tampered files, with false quarters of assessment", said Eric Woerth. The strengthening of controls on the declarations on honour has led to decreased by 60 the number of quarters validated year last (the title of former periods of activity), and the social security net to EUR 80 million savings on benefits this year.