Réforme de la PAC et permanence des concepts de comptabilité nationale

Abstract

CAP reform and permanence of national accounting concepts The CAP reform will bring about a noticeable increase in direct grants to farmers, intended to make up for income losses due to price falls (arable crops, cattle breeding). Therefore important consequences should arise in accounts for agriculture). In order to really appreciate their meaning, we must first consider how national economic accounting is led to analyse such grants, regardless of principles and methodological choices which have been taken for the present (1980) basis. Those aids bring up three important questions to the national accountant : do they constitute subsidies ? which ones could be considered as subsidies on products? what amount should be recorded under the accounts for a given year ? Possible changes connected with the re-basing may result in two important consequences for agricultural accounts : one is in the method for recording output, the other in the definition of time of recording for transactions. Output could be recorded at basic price, which is obtained by adding subsidies on products to the producer's price and by deducting taxes on products. The general principle for time of recording for transactions should become the accrual accounting, i.e. the time when liabilities and claims connected to transactions are ascertained.