Cheating on its income tax, a “justified” practice for 18-25 year olds

In its annual report presented Wednesday, March 19, the Court of Auditors notes a strong distrust of 18-25 year olds with regard to income tax. For 27% of them, “cheating on their taxes” is even justified.

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This is not new: the French are too imposed on their liking. The legitimization of tax fraud is on the other hand more worrying among young people, reveals the annual report of the Court of Public Accounts on Wednesday, March 19. While among 18-25 year olds, only 16% pay theincome tax – the others being attached to the tax household of their parents or affecting Too low income -, there are 63% to judge that the tax level is too high in France. A taxation which appears on average at 1,210 euros for members of this age class not attached to the tax household of their parents, against 4,663 euros for all 18.2 million households which pay income tax in France. Note that among the 18-25 year olds actually imposed, the proportion of dissatisfied falls to 47%, a percentage much lower than the average of the French (75%).

Although weakly imposed, the young generations therefore work in the footsteps of their elders. The 18-25 year olds outdo them even when it comes to legitimizing tax fraud. For 27% of them, “It is justified to cheat on your social taxes and contributions if you have the possibility”. In contrast, less than half of the 1,011 young people under the age of 25 surveyed in the investigation is opposed to this fraud, “Including a quarterly quarter”. And while the last barometer of tax and social security contributions in France published in January 2024 by the Board of Compulsory Drawings (CPO) pointed out that 44% of French people do not estimate “Never justified” To cheat on its taxes, this rate is displayed at 42% among 15-17 year olds and then drops to 19% among 18-20 year olds and 17% among 21-25 year olds. “In this regard, 38 % of young workers and 45 % of young people subject to income tax estimate that lie on his statements and payments can be justified “points the report.

Educate tax, priority according to the Court of Auditors

But how to explain the opinion of young people in the face of tax? For the wise men, she is largely “Mediocre knowledge of the truly applied tax rates”by “The feeling that the tax system would weigh too heavily on the middle and most disadvantaged classes and would, at the same time, save taxpayers with the highest incomes”. And if these audiences mainly have a good tax image, this is not the case for Public fund management of which 53% of them declare themselves dissatisfied. “This appreciation could be compared to their incomplete knowledge of their own situation in terms of income tax: having the feeling of paying too heavy tax, they consider the quality of its use all the more severely”theorizes the Court of Auditors.

Whatever the reasons for the very low consent of the youngest to tax, the Court recommends acting to educate them. First of all before their majority, promoting “A awareness of tax in order to familiarize young people (…) with the main principles on which the French tax system is based”then by sending them, from their 18 years, an information letter encouraging them to activate their personal space on taxes.gouv.fr. For a better understanding of our tax system, the wise men finally argue to harmonize all the Tax advantages reserved for taxpayers with attached adult children as well as the terms of declaration of young workers subject to exemptions, as for student jobs, internships or learning contracts.