Taxe sur les entreprises supprimée, fiscalité revue sur les holdings… Le Sénat retravaille le budget en commission

Refus de la surtaxe sur les entreprises, remodelage de la taxe sur les holdings patrimoniales… La partie “recettes” du budget de l’État a été passée au filtre de la droite sénatoriale lundi en commission, avec le vote de plusieurs mesures d’économies.Les sénateurs de la Commission des finances ont parcouru dans la matinée l’ensemble de cette première partie du projet de loi de finances pour 2026. Ils repartaient du texte initial du gouvernement, conséquence du rejet du budget en première lecture à l’Assemblée nationale.Cette réunion était surtout synonyme de tour de chauffe avant l’examen du texte dans l’hémicycle, prévu à partir de jeudi et jusqu’au vote solennel du 15 décembre. A ce stade, seul le rapporteur général Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains) a pu proposer des amendements.”La cible de déficit à 4,7 % du PIB doit être tenue. Je m’y attacherai”, a-t-il expliqué lors d’une conférence de presse, promettant de donner “l’image d’une assemblée sérieuse, capable d’avoir des débats de fond et de trouver des points de convergence en évitant chamailleries et invectives”.Les commissaires aux Finances ont ainsi voté une restriction de la taxe sur les holdings familiales proposée par le gouvernement, pour que celle-ci ne se limite qu’aux “biens somptuaires”. Une version “proche” de celle votée à l’Assemblée nationale avant le rejet du texte, selon M. Husson.- Taxe augmentée sur les petits colis -La droite sénatoriale s’oppose par ailleurs à la surtaxe sur l’impôt sur les sociétés, dont le gouvernement espérait récupérer quatre milliards d’euros en 2026.”Les entreprises françaises ne doivent pas être les victimes des errements budgétaires de l’État”, a insisté M. Husson.A ce stade, le Sénat ne s’est pas opposé au gel du barème de l’impôt sur le revenu, proposé par le gouvernement, qui conduirait 200.000 foyers supplémentaires à payer cet impôt, pour une recette de deux milliards d’euros. Mais le groupe Les Républicains a déposé un amendement en vue de la séance publique pour indexer sur l’inflation de première tranche d’impôt sur le revenu.La commission des Finances n’a pas proposé non plus de revenir sur la contribution différentielle visant les plus hauts revenus.Elle a en revanche proposé la suppression d’une nouvelle taxe sur les plastiques, et entend faire passer de 2 euros à 5 euros le montant d’une taxe sur les petits colis, soit environ 900 millions d’euros de recettes en plus pour l’État.Sur l’abattement de 10% dont bénéficient les retraités sur leur pension, la commission propose d’en abaisser le plafond, de 4.399 euros à 2.500 euros, là où le gouvernement entendait remplacer le dispositif par un abattement forfaitaire de 2.000 euros. Soit, selon le Sénat, un rendement supplémentaire de 700 millions d’euros.Le rapporteur général LR s’oppose par ailleurs à la hausse de la fiscalité sur les biocarburants B100 et E85, mesures qui avaient provoqué une levée de boucliers de la FNSEA, premier syndicat agricole.Sur l’énergie, un autre amendement a été adopté pour rapprocher la fiscalité appliquée à l’électricité à celle du gaz, qui aurait pour conséquence une diminution des factures d’électricité et une augmentation en contrepartie des factures de gaz.Le Sénat entend également réduire le crédit d’impôt pour les services à domicile (Cisap) pour 700 millions d’euros espérés. Et il compte bien diminuer l’effort demandé aux collectivités locales pour le limiter à deux milliards d’euros.Toutes ces propositions devront de nouveau être mises au vote dans l’hémicycle à partir de jeudi.

US tells EU to rethink tech rules to secure lower steel duties

The United States on Monday urged the European Union to rethink its approach to digital regulation if it wants a deal to lower painful US tariffs on the bloc’s steel exports.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met the EU’s 27 trade ministers for the first high-level talks in Brussels since the transatlantic allies struck a tariff deal in July.Aimed at averting all-out trade war, the deal agreed on a 15-percent US levy for most EU exports — but both sides continue to push for more concessions.While the EU wants the US to lower its 50-percent duties on steel and aluminium, Washington is demanding Brussels rolls back green and digital rules it says harm US firms.Lutnick linked the two issues explicitly after the meeting, telling the EU to reconsider its approach on tech regulation in exchange for a deal to cut duties on Europe’s steel and aluminium exports.”Our suggestion is that the European Union and their trade ministers deeply consider trying to analyse their digital rules, try to come away with a balance,” he said alongside Greer and EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic.”If they can come up with that balanced approach, which I think they can, then we will together with them handle the steel and aluminium issues,” Lutnick said. He said such an approach would mean the EU could see “a trillion dollars of investment, and that would add a point and a half to European GDP”.- EU ‘not discriminatory’ -US President Donald Trump and his government have pushed back hard at the EU’s bolstered legal armoury against Big Tech.Trump in September threatened retaliatory tariffs in response to a massive 2.95-billion-euro ($3.4 billion) fine imposed on Google.Pushed afterwards on whether the EU’s digital rules are a red line, Sefcovic refused to comment.”We’ll be looking into the ways, how we can launch this process on the digital matters,” he told reporters.Sefcovic insisted the EU’s rules were “not discriminatory” or “aimed at American companies”.A spokesperson for the EU executive later stressed Europe’s “sovereign right to legislate”.”Our rules apply only within the EU. And they apply equally to all companies, regardless of their country of origin,” the European Commission spokesperson said.- EU steels itself -The top EU and US officials also discussed issues they are both facing including access to rare earths and chips — vital for the tech industry.”We didn’t only discuss bilateral issues, but also some of the challenges we are facing together: the overcapacity… China’s role in the global economy and other issues where we have to join forces,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.The EU in October moved to double tariffs on foreign steel to shield the industry from a flood of cheap Chinese exports.Brussels hoped the proposal would then see the EU team up with Washington to tackle Chinese overcapacity, and Sefcovic had been pushing his US counterparts agree on steel import quotas.The EU wants a broader “metals alliance” with Washington to ring-fence their respective economies from Chinese overcapacity.Industry data shows China was responsible for more than half of the world’s steel production last year.The steel sector employs around 300,000 people in Europe, and nearly 100,000 jobs have been lost in the past 15 years, the industry says.

EU, Africa leaders talk trade and minerals in Angola summitMon, 24 Nov 2025 15:54:25 GMT

European and African leaders gathered in Angola Monday for a summit to deepen economic and security ties that also presented the chance for emergency talks on Ukraine.European Union chief Antonio Costa chaired an impromptu EU summit at a Luanda hotel in the morning, as Europe and Kyiv push to review a US proposal to end …

EU, Africa leaders talk trade and minerals in Angola summitMon, 24 Nov 2025 15:54:25 GMT Read More »

Two-year S.African sit-in for reparations says still ignoredMon, 24 Nov 2025 15:45:19 GMT

Dozens of elderly people who have camped outside South Africa’s Constitutional Court for two years to demand reparations for their suffering under apartheid had hoped the just-ended G20 summit would bring attention to their plight.The group, many aged in their 70s, were among activists at a “People’s Summit” at Johannesburg’s Constitutional Hill that coincided with …

Two-year S.African sit-in for reparations says still ignoredMon, 24 Nov 2025 15:45:19 GMT Read More »

Huge crowds for Uganda’s Bobi Wine in capital city campaignMon, 24 Nov 2025 15:31:18 GMT

Bobi Wine, the main challenger to President Yoweri Museveni’s 40-year rule in Uganda, drew vast crowds as he brought his campaign to the capital Kampala on Monday ahead of January’s election. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is a 43-year-old singer turned politician who has become hugely popular among Ugandan young people but faces a …

Huge crowds for Uganda’s Bobi Wine in capital city campaignMon, 24 Nov 2025 15:31:18 GMT Read More »

Stocks rise as US rate hopes soothe nerves

Global stock markets and the dollar mostly firmed Monday as fresh hopes for a US interest-rate cut provided some calm after last week’s rollercoaster ride fuelled by worries of an AI tech bubble.”In a week that is stunted by the Thanksgiving celebrations, there is a degree of hope that perhaps the worst is behind us, and we can get into a more festive mood,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.Wall Street was marginally in the green around 15 minutes into the session at the start of a holiday-shortened week, as a cautious Dow added 0.1 percent while the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 1.4 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent.Caution abounded in Europe as Frankfurt stood 0.5 percent ahead two hours out from the close despite German business sentiment falling more than expected in November, the latest sign that industry is losing faith in the government’s plans to revive the economy.London edged up 0.1 percent awaiting the UK government’s annual budget on Wednesday, while Paris stood off 0.2 percent.In Asia, Hong Kong closed up 2.0 percent and Tokyo was shut for a Japanese public holiday.The scramble to snap up all things artificial intelligence has helped propel equities skywards this year, pushing several companies to records — with chip titan Nvidia last month becoming the first company to top $5 trillion.Monday saw Nvidia shares off 0.5 percent in early trading.Investors have grown increasingly fearful that the vast sums pumped into tech may have been overdone and could take some time to see profits realised, leading to warnings of a possible market correction.That has been compounded in recent weeks by falling expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates for a third successive time next month, as stubbornly high inflation overshadows weakness in the US labour market.However, risk appetite was given a much-needed shot in the arm Friday when New York Fed boss John Williams said he still sees “room for a further adjustment” at the bank’s December 9-10 policy meeting.His comments came a day after figures showed that while more jobs were created in September, the unemployment rate crept to its highest level since 2021.Focus is now on the release this week of the US producer price index (PPI), one of the last major data points before officials gather, with other key reports postponed or missed because of the recent government shutdown.”The reading carries heightened importance following the postponement of October’s personal consumption expenditures report, originally scheduled for 26 November, which removes a key datapoint from policymakers’ assessment framework,” wrote IG market analyst Fabien Yip.”A substantially stronger-than-expected PPI outcome could reinforce concerns that inflationary pressures remain entrenched, potentially constraining the Fed’s capacity to reduce rates in December despite recent labour market softening.”- Key figures at around 1445 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 46,269.74 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 6,647.79New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 22,586.64London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,545.03 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,964.39Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 23,217.39Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.0 percent at 25,716.50 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,836.77 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1535 from $1.1519 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3092 from $1.3107Dollar/yen: UP at 157.09 yen from 156.39 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.11 pence from 87.88 penceBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $62.58 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $58.08 per barrel