French government invites taxpayers to tell them where to spend their money

As French income tax season opens, the government wants to know what people think should be done with their taxes, and has launched a programme for taxpayers to tell them.

A French income tax declaration form. The government is asking taxpayers to tell them where their taxes should be spent. © Thomas Coex/AFP

A new website ‘En avoir pour mes imports’ (What I get for my taxes) is to go live Tuesday afternoon, with a survey asking taxpayers about where they think their taxes should be spent, and providing information about where the money goes today.

“I regularly go out to meet people and they tell me they want to know exactly how and where our taxes are spent,” Gabriel Attal, junior minister for public accounts, told RTL radio Tuesday before heading to the Hérault in the south to launch the site.

As many people struggle with rising costs of living and inflation, Attal said the site will break down where the money they give the government ends up, giving examples of what things cost: 110,000 euros to maintain a kilometer of public road; 8,000 euros for a year in public primary school; or 2,600 euros to give birth in a public hospital.

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The economy ministry website already breaks down where 1,000 euros of taxes is spent, by category of spending, with the new site providing more details, with the aim of “transparency” about where money is spent.

Along with the survey, taxpayers will also be invited to express themselves at public events at tax offices this summer, and the government has said it will take responses into account when it presents the 2024 annual budget.