Representative compensation for mandate costs – Wikipedia

L’ Representative compensation for mandate costs ( IRFM ) was a compensation affected by each deputy and each senator in France to cover their representation costs. It was part of the remuneration of institutional actors.

Long uncontrolled, she is often diverted from her mind, allowing certain elected officials to enrich themselves personally (by buying real estate, in particular) or paying political party fees. Between 2015 and 2017, following revelations in the media, its use is more supervised.

Since first ^is January 2018 , the IRFM is replaced by the advance of mandate costs (AFM), in the amount of 5 600 euros gross approximately. Since then, each expense has been subject to proof, which may be controlled randomly, in accordance with the provisions of the office order n ^O 12/xv you November 29, 2017 ^{[ first ]} , with the exception of a sum, often qualified as “Caisse Noire” , of 600 euros per month for deputies (900 for senators) who cannot be controlled ^{[ 2 ]} .

The compensation representative of mandate costs is a parliamentary indemnity in France to cover their representation costs.

In 2002, an amendment voted in the Senate prohibited the control by the tax administration of the use of the IRFM ^{[Ref. necessary]} .

IRFM is not subject to income tax, but is to social security contributions that are the CSG and the CRDS.

Until 2017 included, it is not subject to any control, is not taxable and can be used to cover any type of expenditure: clothing, catering, real estate purchase, trip, etc.

Since 2017, the IRFM has been replaced by the advance of mandate costs (AFM), the use of which can be checked (proof on invoice or credit card ticket).

The difficulties in reforming the IRFM can be explained by the fact that there is a conflict of interest, the system is decided and managed by the parliamentarians themselves.

In the Senate [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 2016, Gérard Larcher announced ^{[ 3 ]} the alignment of practices for the allocation of the compensation representative of mandate costs (IRFM) ^{[ 4 ]} On those of the Assembly with the obligation to create a bank account intended for its use, the development of a benchmark for the use of this compensation in connection with the Senate Ethics Committee ^{[ 5 ]} , and the ban on the use of IRFM for the acquisition of all property.

In the National Assembly [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 2009, the deputy for the new Charles de Courson center proposed, during a budgetary discussion, that the Court of Auditors could verify, “on a random sample, if it is made good” of the IRFM ^{[ 6 ]} .

In 2012, the same UDI deputy filed an amendment recommending that the IRFM be checked and that the share not used for professional purposes by deputies be made taxable. This amendment was not adopted ^{[ 7 ]} .

The laws for confidence in political life remove the IRFM from 2018. Parliamentarians will be hit by the form of direct management, a reimbursement on presentation of supporting documents or the payment of an advance by the ‘Assembly of which they are members, within the limit of the ceilings determined by the office ^{[ 8 ]} .

In November 2017 , the office of the National Assembly decides to supervise the IRFM – the amount of which is 5,373 € € – from January 2018 By imposing accounting with supporting documents from their IRFM by deputies, only a fraction of 600 € € (about 10%) of the sums being exempt from supporting documents for cash payments. A list of eligible expenses is set (permanence rentals, communication, transport, etc.) as well as unauthorized expenses, namely ( “Any funding, direct or indirect, of a political party; The purchase of a property or the rental of real estate including the deputy, his spouse, his ascendants or descendants are owners; Any expenditure deducted from taxable income, also declared in terms of income tax ” ). The services of the ethics must proceed to control the situation annually of 120 deputies ^{[ 9 ]} .

While the IRFM is supposed to cover the representation costs, it is legally used for other purposes:

• Personal enrichment ^{[ ten ]}
• Many deputies have been used to repay the loan to acquire their permanence premises, accommodation in Paris or in their constituency. This is the case for example of Jean-Marie Le Guen, Jean-Pierre Decool or Jean-Christophe Lagarde. Several press articles assure that this is also the case of the candidate for the presidential election Jean-Luc Mélenchon, with his permanence of Massy ^{[ 11 ] , [ twelfth ]} , what the latter formally denies ^{[ 13 ]} . Some, once the debt has been acquitted, are rented in themselves the accommodation; MP Georges Ginesta even used the IRFM to buy a villa with swimming pool which he did not use as a deputy ^{[ 14 ]} .

The HATVP highlighted in a 2016 report that this compensation was diverted for personal enrichment purposes, because used for personal sicavs, for holidays or simply fired in a personal account ^{[ 15 ]} .

In 2017, France Info reveals that several deputies (including Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, François Sauvadet, Patricia Adam, Geneviève Fioraso and Bernard Accoyer) bought their parliamentary permanence with public funds (their IRFM), some even pouring rent. This practice was then legal ^{[ 16 ]} .

The High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP), which controls the public probity of elected officials by examining their heritage and their interests, inspected the declarations filed a few weeks before the end of their mandate by the deputies and a part of the senators , at the end of 2016 and in mars 2017 . Finally, fifteen files were sent to the national financial prosecutor’s office, which opened, in November 2018 , so many preliminary surveys. The files were entrusted to the brigade of repression of economic delinquency ^{[ 17 ]} .

The July 16, 2019 , Minister François de Rugy is forced to resign after the online newspaper Mediapart highlighted that he had financed his EELV political party with his IRFM, by having this undue expenditure of his taxes deduced, while the IRFM is not taxable ^{[ 18 ]} . This would have allowed him not to be taxable at all in 2015.

Having recognized a diversion of his compensation between 2015 and 2017, Philippe Nachbar resigns from his mandate as a senator December 31, 2022 ^{[ 19 ] , [ 20 ]} .

Political party financing [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The unused part of the IRFM was not rendered until 2012 when the National Assembly asked the deputies of the former legislature to reimburse the not spent sums (although these sums are not controlled).

From February 2015 , the regulation of the National Assembly no longer makes it possible to use the IRFM to finance a political party, or acquire real estate. But he explicitly specifies that all the deputies who have already reimbursed part of their purchase with their IRFM can go after funding. No sanction is provided for in the event of non-compliance with this regulation ^{[ 21 ]} .

Senators [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 2011, a senator was entitled to 6,240.18 euros gross per month. ^{[ Ref. desired]}

The monthly amount of the IRFM amounts to 6,109.89 euros net in first ^is February 2017 , with indexing on the evolution of the value of the point of the public service, and is not subject to income tax ^{[ 22 ]} .

Deputies [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The IRFM of the deputies is set in 2017 and 2018 at 5,373 in 2017 and 2018 € € ^{[ 9 ]} .

It was reduced by 10% in 2013 to reassess the treatment of parliamentary assistants.

Year	amount (millions of euros) per year for all deputies [ 23 ]	evolution
2011		–
2012	44.80	+ 0.87%
two thousand and thirteen	38.80	– 13%
2014	38.69 or 39.11 [ 24 ]
2015	39.01 [ 25 ]

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