The Insular Union of Comisiones Obreras of Tenerife (CCOO) has demanded the “urgent” removal of the so-called green penny on the island,
a tax announced by the Cabildo to impose up to two pence per litre of fuel refilled,
and the implementation of a “progressive and earmarked” tourist tax to protect the environment “without penalising citizens”.
The organisation calls for a fiscal policy that is “consistent, brave, and focused on redistribution” rather than on the “penalisation” of those with the least.
In their opinion, “sustainability cannot be discussed while protecting visitors and punishing residents,” and adds that “Tenerife does not need more empty headlines; it needs brave decisions that correct inequalities and prioritise people”.
CCOO expresses its “concern” over the green penny as it is a new tax “that does not target tourism or major polluters, but rather directly burdens the resident population”.
Along these lines, it insists that the tourist tax has been replaced by a levy that will affect those who have to use their private vehicles “on an island without real mobility alternatives”.
“It is difficult not to see a dangerous inconsistency here: when it comes to making tourists pay, prudence is alleged; when it comes to making citizens pay, action is taken without hesitation. The insular president, Rosa Dávila, and her government partners at the Cabildo, with the explicit support of the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, have chosen the easiest path, collecting without troubling the economic model that sustains their policies,” states CCOO.
In this regard, the union indicates, “instead of bravely implementing a tourist tax that redistributes part of the immense benefit generated by this sector, they have chosen to penalise those facing low wages, unaffordable rents, and saturated public services”.
This measure, it continues, “is presented as an environmental commitment, but what lies behind it is a refusal to reform the economic development model in the islands, a model that exploits our resources and workforce without ensuring dignified living conditions”.
For CCOO, “it is not progress to tax those who have no other option to get to work, to the doctor, or to take their children to school; it is institutional cynicism”.
