Overview

• Éric Lombard formally withdrew paragraph 4 of Bercy’s April implementing text after senators Claude Raynal and Jean-François Husson argued its carve-out exceptions weakened the dividend withholding law.
• The revised regulation will directly apply source withholding tax to true beneficiaries in line with the 2025 budget law’s intent to close the CumCum loophole.
• Bercy’s initial draft, based on a Conseil d’État opinion, had exempted regulated markets and unknown counterparties, prompting cross-bench criticism that it diluted anti-fraud measures.
• Since March 2023 the Parquet national financier has investigated CumCum schemes, raiding five banks and seeking roughly €4.5 billion in redress procedures.
• Lombard pledged to bolster next year’s fiscal-fraud enforcement resources at Bercy to strengthen the fight against white-collar tax evasion.