Livret A, sustainable and solidarity development booklet, housing savings plan… Regulated savings represent 14% of the financial savings of French households, reports the Banque de France in its annual report on regulated savings. Its total outstandings thus amount to nearly 834 billion euros. While these investments are often criticized for their low level of remuneration, they are very low risk and that is why they appeal to so many households.
The livret A remains the preferred savings instrument of the French. In France, its number stood at 55.7 million as of December 31, 2021, including 54.9 million held by natural persons. However, in its report on regulated savings, the Banque de France showed that the livrets A and the Livrets de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) focus more on the wealthiest and oldest households.
Indeed, the two savings methods allow you to accumulate up to 22,500 euros for the livret A and 12,000 euros for the LDDS. They therefore make it possible to obtain an overall ceiling close to 35,000 euros, while the interest is tax-exempt.
To respond to this, the Court of Auditors has explored avenues with the aim of limiting this ceiling, reports Boursorama. The merger of the two savings instruments was studied in particular. It would limit the maximum ceiling to that of the booklet A, i.e. 22,500 euros.
The other track explored aims to keep the two booklets, while limiting their overall ceiling to a maximum of 25,000 euros, thus limiting the advantage provided to wealthy households.
However, the banking profession has expressed its reluctance to accept these two measures, which have therefore been abandoned for the time being. In question, the complexity and the excessive cost that they could represent.
But the Court of Auditors has studied other ways of responding to this problem and has thus considered taxing these booklets. What does this really mean for your savings?
The Court of Auditors has considered the possible taxation of regulated savings accounts. Indeed, at present, it is estimated that holders of a livret A or an LDDS would be exempt, on average, from 8 euros, while the taxation of life insurance contracts or PEA would respectively reach more than 90 euros or 40 euros per household, explains Boursorama.
Thus, in the eyes of the Court of Auditors, the effect of taxing savings accounts on the reallocation of the savings concerned in favor of riskier products would be negligible, while the political impact that such an action could generate would be considerable… Your PEL could also be modified very soon and this is not good news.
The Housing Savings Plan (PEL) is an unrivaled long-term savings tool. Indeed, if the risks it entails are almost nil, the average rate of PELs opened before 2011 is 4.51%. It is therefore quite naturally that it has imposed itself in many French savings plans.
However, it was diverted from its original function which was to promote home ownership and therefore to generate mortgages. The Court of Auditors now considers that the PEL is a source of cost for public finances and for banks and therefore wishes to give it meaning for reasons of general interest.
These changes could take several forms, such as the modification of contracts unilaterally by banking establishments, the deterrence of individuals from keeping their PEL, thanks to a tax lever or even the modification of the legal framework of current contracts.
