During the previous International Women’s Rights Day, March 8, 2023, the former Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, committed to “better mobilizing the tax tool to promote professional equality between women and men ”. A strong announcement, made as part of the Interministerial Plan for equality between men and women. Good news: the calculation of income tax will change and some women should soon have an advantage. We take stock with you.
While the withholding tax was introduced in 2019, the tax authorities provide for a common withholding rate for the tax household of married or civil partnership couples. However, this rate strongly penalizes the spouse who earns the lowest salary in the household, which is often the case for women. As MP Marie-Pierre Rixain recalls, interviewed by our colleagues at Au Féminin, “women in a relationship receive an annual income 42% lower than that of their partner”. According to Elisabeth Borne, taking into account an individualized rate could “reduce disparities within a couple”.
The government must therefore, according to the measure adopted on October 11 by the Finance Committee, remedy this problem with the individualized rate. It will come into force from September 1, which means that married or civil partnership women will now be levied based on their own income and no longer that of the tax household. For couples who wish to keep the old rules, it will be possible to do so. As the tax administration specifies, more than 500,000 households have already adopted this personalized rate option until today.
