SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, September 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Finance of the Government of the Canary Islands, Matilde Asián, warned this Wednesday of the “complexity” in preparing the budget of the autonomous community for next year in a context of financial “uncertainty”, without spending ceiling or payments on account and with the recovery of fiscal rules.
In an appearance in a parliamentary committee, he guaranteed, however, that there will be regional accounts and has asked the parliamentary groups to work so that the central government begins to clear up some unknowns, as was already done in similar circumstances with the 2020 budget.
The counselor has said that they have not closed the 2022 settlement either and that “credit insufficiencies” have been detected in some ministries, especially in Health, where spending on personnel and drugs is very high, but she has promised that they will be covered with items of other departments.
However, he has insisted that “it is good” that the Canary Islands have a budget and there will also be a “continuous line” with that of the previous Executive to design accounts by objectives and in which there will be “special relevance” for the control of the entities and the Tax Agency, which will be strengthened.
Asián has also pointed out that the Next Generation funds included in the recovery and resilience mechanism must be “invigorated and streamlined” since 1.4 billion have already been received out of a total of 1.6 billion until 2026 but only 294 million have been executed.
“Today we live in the short term but these funds have a long-term purpose, which is to transform the economy,” he indicated, underlining that the React EU funds “are doing better” and their execution ends on December 31.
The counselor has regretted that the Canarian income “is increasingly distant from the Spanish one, and that is a problem” even though the evolution of the GDP has been positive but in part due to tourism and with a “champagne effect” that makes economic growth is slowing.
He has defended the bonus on the inheritance and donation tax because a Canary Islander does not have to “pay more” than a citizen of the rest of Spain and does not have to suffer an “overtaxation” or end up paying for advisory services because it allows the tax to expire.
Along these lines, he has denied that it is a “tax for the rich” given that the bonus is set at the family level and the average amount of the declared bases is just over 30,000 euros in inheritances and 40,000 euros in donations. “Are those who declare these bases rich?” he asked himself.
He has also denied that this bonus puts public services at risk given that they are covered by the regional financing system, which is detrimental to the Canary Islands despite the fact that it was detached from the REF in 2017.
“We are still below the national average, we have to consider it to reach at least the average, we Canary Islanders do not deserve less,” he highlighted.
THE PSOE REPROACHES THE NON-COMPLIANCE IN THE LOWER OF THE IGIC
The deputy of the Socialist Group, Manuel Hernández, has commented that his situation is “different” from that of his predecessor –Román Rodríguez–, with “rigorously managed” accounts, a “fair and progressive” tax system and an economy that It grew last year above the national average.
He has asked the counselor for information about next year’s budget and has criticized the new fiscal structure of the Executive that tries to “break” progressivity, with a bonus on the inheritance and donation tax that is aimed at the “wealthiest” classes of the islands.
He has also regretted that they are constructing a “speech” to justify not lowering the IGIC and thus failing to fulfill the electoral promise of CC and PP while at the same time he has asked that the Canarian Tax Agency be consolidated as a “cornerstone” of the collection strategy .
Regarding the 2024 budget, he highlighted that AIReF has asked the Government to avoid spending increases and in terms of the tax structure, it has demanded “prudence” and “progressiveness”, which is why it has called the benefits to the companies “irresponsible”. upper classes. “It can put our welfare state in check,” he added.
NC: THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE A PROGRESSIVE FISCAL STRUCTURE
Esther González (NC-BC) has criticized the Government for not complying with its “star measure” of lowering the IGIC and has warned of the impact on collection that the inheritance and donation tax bonus approved this Monday will have.
He pointed out that this is not a “progressive, fair and balanced” tax policy and could also put the provision of public services at risk, while recalling that the previous Executive already had bonuses for inheritances of up to 300,000 euros.
Raúl Acosta (AHI) has said that the budgets establish “priorities” and understands that it is necessary to have accounts in 2024 because it guarantees public services and provides legal certainty despite the lack of information such as the spending ceiling, for example.
Thus, he has shown himself in favor of “relieving the pockets” of the Canary Islands and undertaking “differentiated actions” for the three green islands but always guaranteeing tax revenue and compliance with services “wherever the citizens live.”
CONCRETE THE ELIMINATION OF THE HYDROCARBONS TAX
Acosta has also demanded that the counselor “concrete” the investiture agreement so that the tax reduction on hydrocarbons is applied to the ‘green islands’.
Fernando Enseñat (PP) has said that there are “many pending and suspended matters” from the previous regional Government and in a context of “great uncertainty and economic cooling”, and with a view to the 2024 budgets he has warned of the political “instability” of Spain, with a government in office that “does not fulfill its responsibilities” by not setting the spending ceiling or payments on account.
He has also put on the table that in principle the spending rules will be recovered amid the “opacity” of the central government and that in the execution of the 2023 regional budget there are “spending deviations.”
Javier Nieto (Vox) has said that this Ministry has to “work” due to the importance it has in the economy of the islands, he has highlighted the “bravery” of the Executive for lowering taxes without harming public services and has called for lowering expenses and end the “tendency” of previous governments of “waste and superfluous expenses.”
Along these lines, he has said that there are “disproportionate” expenses in associations and organizations, he has asked to “trust the canaries” to undertake changes and not “empty their pockets” or control them like “adolescents” and he has lamented the bad situation in the who are self-employed and entrepreneurial.
The spokesperson for the Nationalist Group, José Miguel Barragán, has disgraced the previous team of the Ministry that presented its strategic plan in 2021, he has stressed that the return to the fiscal rules will not be “the same” as that of the previous crisis, therefore that one should not be so “pessimistic” and that he has viewed “economic uncertainties” with more distrust, with declining growth. “That does concern me when preparing the budget,” he indicated.
