SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 31. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The secretary general of the Canarian-PNC Coalition, Fernando Clavijo, urged the Canarian president, Ángel Víctor Torres, to adopt measures to face the crisis caused by the rise in prices and the war in Ukraine.
The nationalist leader pointed out that after more than a month since the conflict broke out and after the “setback” of the State with the approval of a Royal Decree Law that “leaves the Canary Islands out”, the Canarian president “has no excuses left for not Do nothing”.
Clavijo insisted that the Canary Islands “cannot continue waiting for Madrid or Europe to respond to the crisis” and warned that “doing nothing only contributes to doing greater damage to Canarian families, to the self-employed, to small and medium-sized businesses, doing nothing contributes to business closures and job losses.
For this reason, he challenged the Canarian president and his government team “to take measures today in the Governing Council, and not to continue waiting for measures that do not arrive because this Autonomous Community has room for manoeuvre, because they are essential and because They have run out of excuses not to take action.
The leader of the Canarian nationalists regretted that the call of the Government of Spain to the political forces, among them the Canarian nationalists, to transfer proposals for the Response Plan to the impact of the war in Ukraine “remained in a simple declaration of intent” .
NOT A SPECIFIC MEASURE FOR THE CANARY ISLANDS
In this context, he reproached that of the 160 pages of the Royal Decree Law approved by the Government of Pedro Sánchez “there is only one specific measure for the Canary Islands linked to the transport of goods, even though the impact is much greater on the islands than in any other territory. “.
Clavijo pointed out that the nationalists began to work “from minute one” with the sectors, with the social and economic agents of the archipelago, and sent proposals to the State and Canary Islands governments aimed at “containing the impact that inflation and the war are having on having in the economic fabric and in the pockets of the canaries”.
However, he regretted that the Government of the Canary Islands “has once again forgotten about the Canary Islands” and that the Canarian Executive “has wasted more than a month” waiting to see what decisions Spain and Europe would take to mark a roadmap that it expects ” leave the Governing Council this afternoon because neither the families nor the self-employed nor the small and medium-sized entrepreneurs can sustain the situation they are experiencing anymore”.
The spokesman for the Canarian Nationalist Group (CC-PNC-AHI), José Miguel Barragán, insisted that “doing nothing is worsening the situation.”
As indicated by the CC spokesman, “the Government has limited itself to approving the refund of 100% of the carriers’ taxes”, and indicated that it was not a deliberate action, but a consequence of the threat to continue the strike.
The nationalist spokesman stressed the need for the Government of the Canary Islands to take measures that compensate “the abandonment of the State in managing a crisis that delays growth forecasts after the pandemic and that is fully attacking family economies, self-employed and small and medium entrepreneurs”.
For this reason, he urged the Government of Ángel Víctor Torres to take measures and “to take them now” in today’s Governing Council to curb the impact of inflation, which broke another historical record in Spain, growing to 9.8% .
THERE IS ROOM FOR MANEUVER
Barragán also pointed out that there is “margin for maneuver to adopt measures on the islands” and referred to the proposals put forward by the nationalists.
Among them, the reduction of 0.5% in the autonomous section of personal income tax for tax relief for Canarian families in all sections, deflating personal income tax rates in accordance with the real evolution of prices, since “it would mean savings for the taxpayer”, because, if not carried out, “this will entail a tax burden on income, avoiding the loss of economic capacity that has been dragging everything since the past 2021”.
In addition, the nationalist insisted on the need to advocate for a package of new deductions aimed at compensating for the extra cost of the ultraperiphery on the regional section of personal income tax that benefits all Canarians or, where appropriate “that those who have income of less than 39,000 euros if the declaration is individual or less than 52,000 if it is made jointly”; the expansion of the Special Scheme for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs and Professionals (REPEP) for those who invoice up to 50,000 euros per year; the reduction of the IGIC rates from 7 to 5% and the return to the rates prior to 2008, that is, to 2.75% of the reduced rate; the application of type 0 for the production, transportation and distribution of electricity, gas, steam and hot water instead of the current 3%; the application of type 0 for the transport of passengers and public service goods by land; exempt primary sector companies from advancing the IGIC to the Government of the Canary Islands; the deduction of 50% of fuel bills for the self-employed in personal income tax, even if their activity is not related to transport or the refund of 100% of the Special Tax quota of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands on fuels derived from petroleum, of diesel and professional gasoline used by carriers and farmers.
“THEY NEITHER LISTEN TO OR UNDERSTAND THE CANARY ISLANDS”
The deputy of the Canarian Nationalist Group, Rosa Dávila, criticized that “it is empty of specific measures for the Canary Islands” and placed special emphasis on those linked to connectivity and transport transferred by the nationalists who demanded the reduction of airport and port taxes for both international, state and inter-island traffic, as well as direct aid to airlines and maritime companies to compensate for the cost of the rise in fuel.
In this context, he also referred to the extension of the discount on air and sea tickets for residents in Spain up to 50% to guarantee accessibility at reasonable prices, thus guaranteeing the connectivity and cohesion of the territory, just as the railway does. with investments and discounts on train and AVE tickets and that the State denies the Canary Islands.
Nor did the Government of Pedro Sánchez heed the request of the nationalists to apply a discount of 30 cents per liter, 40 cents in the case of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote and 50 cents per liter for La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera, compared to the 20 cents per liter for the entire State approved by the Government.
Likewise, he reproached that the Royal Decree Law does not contemplate measures to guarantee the supply in the islands as it is included in the Specific Supply Regime to guarantee the supply of the ORs.
The nationalist deputy acknowledged that she did not understand that the State had not taken into account any of the proposals of the Canarian nationalists when “Canarias is the community with the highest rate of poverty and unemployment rate and in this Royal Decree there is not a single specific measure to address this serious situation for families, the self-employed and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs” and pointed out that it is a true reflection that “they neither listen to nor understand the Canary Islands”.
