The French law on the financing of social security for 2012 has been published in the Official Journal. There are a number of important changes this year:
* The rate of the so-called employer ‘forfait social’ contribution is increased from 6% to 8%.
* The social security scheme applicable to severance payments has been amended in respect to the termination of corporate officers, senior managers and persons referred to in Article 80 of the General Tax code. The nontaxable share excluded from social security contributions now has an upper limit of 72,744 euros.
* The rate of abatement for business expenses has been reduced. The automatic deduction is now set at a fixed rate of 1.75%.
*There are also changes in the way that the “fillon reduction” is calculated for employees on low incomes.