Vinci threatens to pass on the cost of a new tax announced by the government to motorists.
Under the guise of financing ecological transition projects, will French motorists soon be a little more forced to put their hands in their pockets when taking a motorway? It’s possible. As soon as the finance bill was unveiled by the government, a motorway company is already threatening to increase the toll price next year!
The government unveiled its finance bill for the year 2024 on September 27 and, to finance the ecological transition, the executive formalized an option that had already been rumored for several weeks: taxing the companies that operate motorway concessions. These companies will not be the only ones targeted since the government has added those managing major French airports. This new tax should bring in a total of 600 million euros per year according to the 2024 bill.
“The best funding is to ensure that those who pollute more contribute more,” said the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire when unveiling this project. The response was not long in coming since one of the largest motorway concession companies in France, Vinci, immediately responded through a press release sent to AFP. The company assures us: “an increase in taxes is inevitably an increase in toll rates”, according to the president of Vinci Autoroutes, Pierre Coppey.
The standoff seems to have started between Vinci and the government. As a reminder, in August, the Minister Delegate in charge of Transport, Clément Beaune, had already addressed this idea of ??a tax targeting motorway companies and denied any possible impact on toll prices. “Changes in toll prices are provided for by long-term contracts between the State and the motorway companies. It is legally planned like that. The contracts do not allow the motorway companies to say one fine morning: I am increasing the tolls because I believe that I am paying too many taxes,” he assured France Info, while recognizing that, “every year, a discussion is held independent of all that on the level of tolls.”
This discussion promises to be tough in 2024. As a reminder, highway companies can already increase their rates based on inflation. At the start of 2023, toll rates had increased on average by almost 5%.
