Funding of legal aid: 11.6% tax on legal expenses insurance and higher fixed criminal procedure fee
Article 35 of the 2015 Finance Act makes legal expenses insurance contracts subject to the special tax on insurance contracts at 11.6%, of which 2.6 points, up to €25m a year, are allocated to the National Bar Council to pay lawyers working under legal aid. It raises the fixed procedure fee paid by convicted persons (from €22 to €31, €90 to €127, €120 to €169, €375 to €527) and the flat-rate tax on bailiffs' acts (from €9.15 to €11.16), with a capped allocation to the National Bar Council. These provisions apply from 1 January 2015.
Measure originators
A positive amount is revenue or savings for public finances; a negative amount is a cost or lost revenue.
Measure impact
According to the Senate general report, the three increased taxes should raise €43m a year (€25m from legal expenses insurance, €7m from the fixed procedure fee and €11m from the tax on bailiffs' acts), allocated to legal aid funding, compared with €60m for the former legal aid contribution abolished in 2014.
Official references
Procedure timeline
Follow the progress of this fiscal measure through the different stages of the parliamentary procedure.
Administrative implementation
Entrée en vigueur de la mesure et mise en œuvre par l'administration
Possible referral to Constitutional Council
Décision de conformité / censure partielle
President of the Republic signature
Publication au Journal officiel
Joint committee
Désaccord éventuel
Debate and vote
Débat et vote en séance publique à l'Assemblée nationale, ou engagement de la responsabilité du Gouvernement (article 49.3)
Council of Ministers
Validation interne