The Syndicat Neutre des Independants (SNI - Neutral Union for the Self-Employed) on Friday strongly criticised the exclusion of retired self-employed workers from a preferential tax rate included in a reform approved overnight by Parliament.
The SNI said in a statement on Friday that the favourable 33% rate for pensioners seeking to top up their income applies only to wage earners, whereas retired self-employed pensioners remain subject to the ordinary progressive tax rates.
The government argues that self-employed people have greater control over the scale of their activity, but the SNI described this justification as unconvincing and unfair.
In both cases, the union said, pensioners continue to work and contribute to the economy after retirement, while also helping to support the financing of an ageing population.
The SNI is therefore calling for an amendment to extend the 33% rate to the profits and earnings of retired self-employed workers.
At the same time, the union welcomed what it described as a structural reduction in the tax burden on work and the long-awaited fiscal recognition of entrepreneurial risk.
It pointed in particular to the increase in the tax-free allowance, the entrepreneur deduction, and the abolition of the tax surcharge for insufficient advance payments.
According to the SNI, these measures give entrepreneurship more breathing space and reflect demands it has been making for years.
However, it said the reforms still do not go far enough, given the risks and investments self-employed workers are required to shoulder.
