France | Mineral waters: after the Nestlé scandal, the Senate increases VAT on bottled water against the advice of the government

A “necessary” text, according to its defenders. The Senate voted on the night of Wednesday to Thursday to increase VAT on bottled water, a measure intended to encourage consumers to favor tap water against a backdrop of scandal over the practices of mineral water manufacturers. . The upper house voted by a show of hands for this measure in the draft budget for 2025, against the advice of the government.

The amendment, carried by Macronist senator Nadège Havet, proposes to eliminate the reduced VAT rate on water in plastic bottles, currently set at 5.5% and which would therefore increase to 20%. While preserving bottled water sold overseas from this measure.

“Concerns raised by scandal”

“In a context where the question of the management of natural resources, corporate responsibility and ecological issues are really at the heart of the debates, it has become necessary to rethink this tax policy,” launched the socialist Hervé Gillé, assuming to defend this measure “in view of the concerns raised by the Nestlé Waters scandal”.

The subsidiary of the Swiss agri-food giant admitted in January to having used prohibited disinfection systems to maintain the “food safety” of its mineral waters. These revelations, relayed by the press, shined the spotlight on the practices of industrialists in the sector, leading in particular the Senate to launch a commission of inquiry on the subject at the beginning of autumn, aimed in particular at investigating the use of prohibited filtration processes.

Up to 300 million euros in targeted benefits

Senators estimated that the measure could bring in between 150 and 300 million euros per year. Of this sum, the author of the amendment pleaded for “100 million euros to be allocated to financial support for elected officials for the renovation of schools by contributing to the Green Fund”, a system dedicated to financing projects in favor of of the ecological transition in local authorities.

But the Minister of Public Accounts Laurent Saint-Martin opposed it, arguing that VAT was “not an incentive tax tool”. “VAT is not the right tool for this,” he said, quoted by Public Senate.

The upper house examines the part dedicated to revenue in the 2025 budget until Saturday, before looking at expenditure and the solemn vote on this entire finance bill on December 12. Furthermore, seven deputies and seven senators meeting in a joint committee (CMP) found a compromise on Wednesday on the Social Security budget, a crucial step which could be swept aside with a bang in the event of censorship next week, a threat which weighs heavily more and more about the government.