The 2025 Budget Bill: What's New for Businesses?

The 2025 budget bill was presented to the Council of Ministers on October 10. It includes several measures concerning corporate taxation. 

It is important to note that all of the provisions presented here are subject to change during the budget debate in Parliament. In addition, other measures could be introduced and included in the final text adopted before the end of the year.

With regard to corporate taxation, the main measures currently included in the draft finance bill target large companies. Specifically, the bill presented by the government proposes to impose a one-time levy on the profits of companies with revenue of 1 billion euros or more. This one-time levy would take the form of a surcharge on the corporate income tax (CIT) owed. It would be in effect for two years and would apply for the first time to fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2024. 

The contribution would be equal to 20.6% of the corporate income tax (CIT) owed by companies with revenue between 1 and 3 billion euros, and 41.2% for companies with revenue exceeding 3 billion euros. Given a standard corporate income tax rate of 25%, the one-time contribution would therefore raise the corporate income tax rate to 30.15% for companies with revenue between 1 and 3 billion and to 35.3% for companies with revenue exceeding 3 billion. The rate of the special contribution would be reduced for the second fiscal year ending on or after December 31, 2024, to 10.3% (revenue between 1 and 3 billion) and 20.6% (revenue exceeding 3 billion), so that the effective corporate income tax rate would be 27.65% and 30.15%, respectively, for the second fiscal year ending on or after December 31, 2024.
 

The budget bill also introduces a tax on capital reductions through the cancellation of securities carried out by companies with revenue exceeding 1 billion euros. The tax rate is set at 8 percent. The bill stipulates that the tax will apply to capital reductions carried out on or after October 10, 2024, the date the bill was introduced.
 

(Source: Stéphane Jacquin, Managing Partner and Head of Wealth Engineering at Lazard Frères Gestion)