France will impose €7.2 billion in new taxes this year, including large one-off levies on wealthy households and big corporations, according to a revised 2012 budget.
The new taxes are an effort to plug a revenue shortfall left by slowing economic growth in France.
The French government plans a €2.3 billion one-off levy on those with net wealth of more than €1.3m.
It will also impose a €1.1 billion in extraordinary taxes on large banks and on energy firms holding oil stocks.
President Francois Hollande, in power since mid-May, has said that the rich should pay their share as France struggles to cut its public deficit from 5.2% of GDP last year to within 4.5% this year and 3% in 2013 despite a stagnant economy and rising debt levels.
The new French government stood by commitments to meet deficit targets and balance its budget by 2017 with extra measures today, raising taxes and cutting the burden of public spending.
The economy is expected to grow by 2% a year from 2014 to 2017, the government said, the day after cutting growth forecasts for this year and next and warning of the "crushing" burden of deficits and debt.
Some €13.3 billion in tax increases fall about equally on businesses, notably big businesses and oil companies, and on private taxpayers in this year and 2012. The taxes on households will fall mainly on high earners and the rich.
The government was elected with a campaign to switch the focus in the euro zone debt crisis from austerity to action for growth. The Socialists promised to reverse part of measures to reform pensions and switch some charges from business to sales tax, to increase some public spending, but to hold to commitments to the European Commission to reduce the public deficit and tackle the debt.
The public deficit will fall to 4.5% of output this year from 5.2% in 2011, and to the EU ceiling of 3% next, and will be in balance in 2017, the government said. The public debt of accumulated deficits will rise above 90% of output to a high point of 90.6% in 2013, falling to 82.4% in 2017. The outlook for inflation this year was increased from 1.8% to 1.9%.
"Inflation will remain relatively dynamic at 1.9% owing to still high oil prices in 2012 compared with 2011," the budget document said. These figures are based on expectations that the economy will grow by 0.3% this year, 1.2% next year and then by 2% up to 2017.
The overall ratio of public spending to gross domestic product will fall from 56.2% this year to 53.4% in 2017.
The national audit office, in a report requested by the new government under President Francois Hollande and headed by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, had warned earlier this week that the government had to take extra budget action.
It said that to meet the deficit targets this year and next the government would have to correct its budgets by up to €43 billion in the next two years.
Under today's revised budget, taxes will be increased to generate an extra €7.2 billion this year. A freeze on some spending will save €1.5 billion. Next year, tax increases will generate an extra €6.1 billion. This year, 53% of the burden of the tax increases will fall upon households and 47% on businesses.
Of the tax increases targeted at individuals and families, 73% will fall on people with the highest wealth and the highest earnings, the government said.
A special surcharge on the wealth tax, which falls on the total value of assets held by a private taxpayer, will raise €2.3 billion this year, and the tax is set to be increased permanently in 2013.
The government confirmed that it was withdrawing an increase in VAT sales tax planned by the last government with the intention of switching some social charges from business onto consumers in a drive for competitivity by French industry.
France, where social charges bear heavily on companies and staff, is concerned at a decline of its manufacturing base, the movement of some of its manufacturing abroad, and also at a big structural trade deficit.
The government announced two measures raising a charge on a savings programme for employees and advancing a special tax on big companies. The first will raise €550m and the second €800m this year.
And the government did not rule out raising a general social charge called the CSG next year, although it has said it will not increase VAT sales tax. The audit report implied that the government might have to consider raising VAT and the CSG to achieve its targets, and should do something to reduce the total of wages in the public sector.
The government also announced a special tax on oil companies to raise €550m. Hollande said during his election campaign that if petrol prices at the pump continued to rise - they have since fallen - he might consider temporarily holding down petrol prices.
Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac said today that if oil companies passed on the latest tax measure, prices at the pump might rise by one cent a litre.
