MADRID, 7 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Plenary Session of the Congress of Deputies has welcomed this Tuesday the consideration of the bill promoted by the Parliament of the Canary Islands that modifies article 44 of the REF to allow companies installed in the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC) to engage in trade triangular.
Triangular trade is carried out on the islands by some 120 companies that have a turnover of around 130 million euros a year and maintain close to 800 jobs and the activity is currently allowed in companies that maintain 90% of their resources in the Canary Islands after the approval of the PGEs.
In order to avoid irregular activities, triangular trade operations carried out with entities established in tax havens or with payments from or to said territories will not be eligible for the ZEC.
The bill, which calls for lowering these criteria to 50%, has been defended by the autonomous deputies Manuel Domínguez (PP), Rosa Dávila (CC-PNC) and Iñaki Álvaro (PSOE) and has been rejected by United We Can .
Manuel Domínguez, spokesman for the PP in the regional Chamber, has complained that living in the Canary Islands is being a “second-class citizen” due to the “treatment” that the central government gives him, putting on the table that the Canary Islands, for example, have the highest rate of youth unemployment and poverty is increasing.
Thus, given the “false appearance” that the Canary Islands are a “tax haven”, he has defended that it is “fair” to defend the “rights” of the Canary Islands, “not privileges”, with the aim of being at the same level as the territory national.
LACK OF LEGAL CERTAINTY
He has lamented the lack of support from Sí Podemos for the bill and insisted that the REF needs “legal certainty” and now presents “lacunaes” and sometimes “scares away” investment, which is why he sees the legal modification necessary and with retroactive character. “Losing a single job is a luxury in the Canary Islands,” she pointed out.
Rosa Dávila (CC-PNC) has commented that the “reinterpretation” of the norm by the Ministry of Finance has created “legal uncertainty” and has left some 800 jobs in the air, to the point that Parliament has presented this initiative so that the rights of the canaries are “respected”.
He has branded as “capricious” the new interpretation of the Ministry that leaves a “huge shadow” of insecurity for the companies installed in the ZEC, some with more than 21 years of activity, hence he has urged the deputies to “defend the REF” . “They are not privileges, they are not our rights,” he explained.
He has also said that the practice of triangular trade cannot be left “to the gamble” of the inspectors’ interpretation, warning that in the future the discount for residents on trips to the Peninsula can also be “put in check”.
Iñaki Álvaro, from the Socialist Group, has said that triangular trade is included in the REF and allows investment and employment to be generated on the islands, stressing that they do not ask for “anything” that is not covered by the outermost condition of the Canary Islands.
He has recognized that triangular trade has been taking place in the archipelago since 2000 and understands that he cannot risk suffering the “reputational” problem that Madeira has had, which makes it necessary to give it more legal certainty through “dialogue” between the regional governments. and state.
He has also said that it is a “duty and requirement” to adapt the REF to the needs of the Canary Islands and thus “equalize” with the rest of the Spanish State to maintain competitiveness in the face of its fragmentation and distance.
FERNÁNDEZ SAYS THAT THE “SURVIVAL” OF COMPANIES IS AT STAKE
The deputy María Fernández (CC-PNC) has said that this law supposes the “survival” of the companies and another initiative in defense of the privileges and norms of the archipelago that “suddenly” is put at risk by the report “of an official from Madrid”.
He has pointed out that this change “puts the entire ZEC area at risk”, not only triangular trade, stressing that the REF “is not a perk or a privilege” but a tool to make the Canary Islands equal to the Peninsula.
He has highlighted that this “problem” has been generated by the PSOE, “it did not exist”, and furthermore, they have spent “a year going around” with the interpretation of the norm because the procedure “could have been saved” through the law of State’s general budgets.
In his opinion, this law is an example of the “lack of understanding” with the Canary Islands, which is why he has requested that it be processed urgently.
Juan Ignacio López-Bas has supported reinforcing the REF to give it legal certainty and help to polish the “disadvantages” of the Canary Islands and ensure a commercial activity that has been in force on the islands for more than 20 years.
He has indicated that until 2021 “there was no problem” but a new “interpretation” was introduced from the Ministry of Finance that now must be “corrected”, always keeping in mind that it is necessary to comply with European and international regulations and “avoid paradises prosecutors”.
UNITED WE CAN: THE REF SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON SOCIAL NEEDS
Laura López Domínguez, from Unidas Podemos, has defended the position of her group to “defend” the REF but so that it is aimed at people, the social majority and fight against poverty, and not to favor “big companies”.
He has indicated that the REF must increase the “social return” and help reduce inequality and for this reason he has opposed the reduction of corporate tax and taxation, with the consequent danger of opening the door to “tax havens” in the Canary Islands. , something in principle blocked with the provision included in the PGE.
Andrés Rodríguez (VOX) has admitted that the REF “does not work” because it does not give legal certainty to companies, something that is demonstrated with seven modifications to article 44 “because of the legislators” while criticizing the opacity with which they work the inspectors.
Ana Zurita, of the Popular Group, has said that the ZEC was created to attract investment in the Canary Islands but the Government “does not care” and forces the Canary Islands deputies to work on issues that are in the law and now companies are forced to pay 25% instead of 4%.
He has charged against the “constant persecution” of the Tax Agency towards companies and the self-employed when triangular trade generates “synergies” and allows the creation of more employment and economic activity and in a complementary way to tourism.
He has criticized that legal uncertainty creates problems for the “reputation” of the country, not only in the Canary Islands, stressing that “uncertainty” is the “worst enemy” of investment.
Tamara Raya (PSOE) has highlighted the “broad consensus” of the Parliament of the Canary Islands regarding the law, although she has questioned that there are parties that try to appropriate the REF, “which belongs to the citizenry, is an element of cohesion and territorial sustainability “.
He has said that the PSOE government is the one that “has complied the most” with the REF and from a “calm dialogue” with the Canary Islands government and recalled that this issue has “cooled” since 2018 and “nobody had done anything”.
However, he has pointed out that through the PGE of 2023 the practice of triangular trade in the Canary Islands is already allowed and with a taxation of 4%, although he has admitted that some aspects can be tweaked.
The president of Parliament, Gustavo Matos, has highlighted “the importance for the Canary Islands of Congress debating and voting on a bill that comes out of the Parliament of the Canary Islands and whose purpose is to guarantee the future of the triangular economy, which is attractive for the islands from an economic point of view and support for the Canarian businessmen who have opted for this economic model”.
He also insisted on the exceptionality of the initiative and added that “it shows that the Parliament of the Canary Islands is at the foot of the canyon of important projects for the present and future of the islands.”
