The Spanish Government approved this Wednesday, in the last meeting of the Council of Ministers of the year, the extension of some anti-crisis measures, including temporary taxes on banking and energy and the 30% bonus on public transport.
According to the EFE agency, at the press conference after the meeting, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced the extension for one more year of temporary taxes on banks and energy companies, measures of the so-called “social shield” aimed at combating the effects of inflation.
In the case of energy, strategic investments linked to industrial and decarbonization projects may be deducted during the year in which the tax is extended.
Likewise, the solidarity tax on large fortunes will also be extended for another year.
In the fiscal area, the elimination of VAT for basic foods and the 5% reduction in pasta and oils will be maintained for another six months, as had been announced.
The Government also decided to extend for another year the 30% bonus on frequently used public transport tickets paid by the State, which the autonomous communities must complete up to 50%.
The Government, however, left free public transport for young people and the unemployed out of the aid package, which it had announced last November, during the investiture debate of Pedro Sánchez as President of the Executive.
The extraordinary and temporary taxes levied on banks and energy companies in Spain affect income from interest and commissions, in the case of banks, and sales, in the energy sector, and the companies affected by these taxes cannot transfer the cost of these commissions to consumers, providing for control mechanisms and sanctions in case of infringement.
When these measures were announced, the Government considered that extraordinary profits associated with inflation and the increase in interest rates were at stake, arguing that there had to be social justice in sharing the costs of the crisis generated by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
In July, the Spanish Government forecast income of 3.5 billion euros per year from these taxes, of which banks would contribute 1.5 billion and energy companies 2.0 billion.
According to the Spanish press, around twenty companies in both sectors are covered by these extraordinary taxes.
The Executive affirmed that these income will be used to finance the measures it has adopted since the start of the war in Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, to try to reduce the effects of inflation on the economy and family income, including discounts on the purchases. fuel and public transport passes, 200 euro checks for people with lower incomes, pension increases or reduction of VAT on electricity.
Source: TSF
