Find the new The Conversation article by Nizar Atrissi, Associate Professor at the Sorbonne Business School!
During the budget debate, a tax on so-called unproductive wealth was passed on October 31. But what does this term really mean? And are the bases targeted by this tax really as unproductive as they seem?
As France seeks to tax so-called "unproductive" wealth, it risks weakening the very engine that finances its economy. The new tax on unproductive wealth aims to redirect idle capital towards productive investment, but by including bank deposits, cash holdings and even some life insurance products in its tax base, the measure strikes at the heart of the country's financial system: its financial intermediation model.
The National Assembly adopted on first reading, on October 31, 2025, a new tax presented as an instrument of economic justice: the tax on unproductive wealth. Its objective is clear. The aim is to increase the contribution of so-called "dormant" capital and redirect savings towards productive investment. But behind this ambition lies a major economic paradox. By including bank liquidities and deposits in its tax base, the reform directly affects what fuels the real French economy, the mechanism for transforming savings into credit.
Disputed definition
According to the voted text, "unproductive wealth" groups together assets that would not participate directly in the creation of value. The tax would apply to real estate and assets considered unproductive: luxury goods such as yachts or private jets, precious metals and digital assets, as well as deposits and cash, including certain life insurance policies deemed "inactive". The underlying assumption is that these assets create neither jobs nor growth.