More than 13,000 wealthy households pay no income tax, according to Bercy documents sent to the Senate

More than 13,000 tax households eligible for the real estate wealth tax (IFI) – i.e. those who have a real estate fortune greater than 1.3 million euros – pay “zero or negative” income tax, according to a “note analyzing the documents sent by the government” from the Senate and consulted by an AFP journalist on Wednesday, confirming information from Le Monde.

“Approximately 10% of IFI taxpayers have zero or negative income tax,” indicates the same analysis note. In January, former Minister of the Economy Éric Lombard assured that thousands of wealthy French people did not pay income tax, an assertion which was denied by the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin.

“It is not true that tens of thousands of wealthy French people pay no income tax. There is no document in Bercy that would show it,” said Amélie de Montchalin on January 14, when questioned on the subject during questions to the government in the National Assembly.

No reaction from the Director General of Public Finances

The figures analyzed by the senators, based on 2024 tax data, show that the proportion of tax households paying no income tax increases at the same time as their wealth: within the 0.1% of households “with the largest real estate assets”, the proportion of households not paying income tax is 10.2% (nearly 2,500). This figure increases to 14.9% (nearly 300) for the richest 0.01% of households (with an average asset of 14 million euros).

Retired for non-residents in France and people who died during the year, the figures show the same trend, with respectively 6.3% for the richest 0.1%, and 7.6% for the 0.01%.

“If the reference tax income (RFR) of these categories of taxpayers is not communicated, these elements confirm the declarations of former minister Éric Lombard,” indicates the same note.

Questioned by AFP on the sidelines of an event in Bercy, the Director General of Public Finance, Amélie Verdier, did not wish to react.