The Generalitat obtained a record collection of its own and ceded taxes in 2025

BarcelonaThe Generalitat (Valencian regional government) collected a total of €6.069 billion in its own and transferred taxes last year, an unprecedented amount, representing a 9.9% increase, according to the provisional settlement of the budget extended into 2015. This amount, which doubles that obtained in 2015, was driven by the inheritance and gift tax, which increased by €835 million and €3.263 billion, respectively, by 17.6%. Another major transferred tax, the inheritance and gift tax, increased by 0.8%, reaching €1.162 billion. Furthermore, the year ended with a deficit of 0.51% of the gross domestic product (GDP), as explained by the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero. For the second consecutive year, a current account surplus was achieved, reaching €549 million, compared to €381 million in 2024, and 97.2% of the total planned expenditure was executed.

In a direct message to ERC urging them to support the 2026 budget, Romero has repeatedly stated that the figures would improve if the budget were approved. This would be essential for further reducing the deficit and increasing investment, as well as for achieving a better credit rating. The minister asserted that she finds it difficult to believe ERC could prevent the budget from being processed. The minister, accompanied by the department's secretary general, Juli Fernández, emphasized that they are conveying to the Republicans that "the budget is necessary for the country" and reminded them that it represents a 9 billion euro increase compared to the 2023 budget, the last one approved. She also reiterated that there are resources that, even with supplementary appropriations such as the one for 2025, would not allow for the incorporation of 1.5 billion euros. He also warned that without accounts it will be more difficult to approve support measures to mitigate the effects of the war in the Middle East. Fernández, for his part, explained that they will wait to see how the effects of the conflict with Iran develop before refinancing part of the debt through banks, as they did last year.

Payroll Notice

Romero also stated that the budgets must be approved as soon as possible and that if supplementary credits are not incorporated, in the event that the accounts have not been approved by April or May, actions will have to be left undone in the departments to pay salaries.

In total, non-financial, non-earmarked revenue reached €38.224 billion, a 3.5% increase, while total non-financial revenue stood at €41.6 billion, 2.6% higher than the previous year. In addition to regional and transferred taxes, advance payments under the financing model – €28.255 billion – grew by 10.2% and accounted for 89% of total revenue. Romero noted that if the new regional financing model is approved, revenue will be received immediately, and the advance payment system will be discontinued two years after the budget closes. The average payment period was ultimately 28 days. The Generalitat's total debt remained below 29% of GDP, at around 28.4%, according to the Government's estimates, and the Catalan economy closed the last fiscal year with 2.7% growth.

Regarding its own and transferred taxes, with a dynamism closely linked to the high level of activity in the real estate sector, in 2024 the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) approached a record revenue, with a total of €5.286 billion from these sources. This surpassed the previous record set in 2006 (€5.362 billion), before the bursting of the real estate bubble and when the Catalan government had hardly any of its own taxes. Last year's figure represented a 12% increase compared to the previous year, thanks to the boost from taxes linked to real estate activity, according to data from the Catalan administration. In the current context, with the Generalitat's budget blocked due to ERC's demands regarding the management of personal income tax, the planned allocation for the ATC this year is €121.8 million. This amount should allow for an increase in staff by 200 new permanent positions and over 450 temporary reinforcements. It is projected to break the record again in 2026, according to the draft budget pending approval in the Catalan Parliament. Despite the lack of approved budgets, investment last year reached €2,855.7 million, a similar amount to that of 2024 and around €400 million more than in 2023, the year of the last approved budget. If resources from European funds are included, the amount rises to €3,423.3 million, exceeding the €3,178.1 million of the previous year. Transport accounted for 20.6% of total investment, followed by Health at 11.4%, housing and urban development at 10.3%, education at 7.2%, energy at 6.5%, and the water cycle at 6.4%.