This is the fear of many French people. Complete and validate your income tax return. However, for many taxpayers, the exercise will have no impact on their budget. Because less than half of French people pay income tax: exactly 44.7% in 2023 according to figures published in mid-April by the Directorate General of Public Finances. Or 0.8 points less in one year. Out of 40.7 million tax households, only 18.2 million are taxed in this way. Very far from the ratio reached between 1975 and 1985: at that time, the share oscillated between 60 and 65%.
But is it a problem that less than half of French people are currently involved in this specific compulsory deduction? “There is not only income tax in the strict sense in France,” points out Agnès Verdier-Molinié, director of the Ifrap foundation, dedicated to research on public policies. There is also the CSG (generalized social contribution) which, if it is assimilated in the minds of our fellow citizens to social security contributions, is in fact an income tax. »