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

BarcelonaLast year, the Catalan government collected a record €6.069 billion in its own and transferred taxes, an unprecedented amount representing a 9.9% increase. This figure includes both taxes collected by the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) and those collected by the central government and subsequently transferred, such as the 2025 tax. The amount, which doubles the revenue obtained in 2015, was driven by wealth and property transfer taxes, which rose by 9.6% to €835 million and 17.6% to €3.263 billion, respectively. Another major transferred tax, inheritance and gift tax, increased by 0.8% to €1.162 billion. Furthermore, the fiscal year closed with a deficit of 0.51% of 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 that 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 an increase of 9 billion euros 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 evolve before refinancing part of the debt through banks, as they did last year.

Payroll Notice

Romero, who has ruled out withdrawing the budget proposal from Parliament, also stated that it is necessary to approve it as soon as possible. He added that if supplementary funding is not agreed upon, and the budget is not approved by April or May, departmental spending will have to be suspended to cover payroll, in another message of pressure on the Republicans.

In total, non-financial, non-earmarked revenue reached €38.224 billion last year, 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 activity in the real estate sector, in 2024 the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) approached a record collection, with a total of €5.286 billion from these sources, which was the second highest figure (€5.362 billion) before the bursting of the real estate bubble and when the Catalan government had hardly any of its own taxes. The 2024 figure represented a 12% increase compared to the previous year, thanks to the boost from taxes linked to real estate activity, as was the case in 2024.

In the current context, with the Catalan government's budget blocked by the demands of the Catalan government (CC), €121.8 million, an amount that should allow for an increase in staff by 200 new permanent positions and more than 450 temporary reinforcements in preparation for the next tax season. The Catalan government is expected to break its own tax revenue record again in 2026, according to the draft budget pending parliamentary approval, which will be announced next Friday. Despite the lack of an approved budget, 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. Including resources from European funds, the total rises to €3,423.3 million, exceeding the €3,178.1 million of the previous year. Transportation accounted for 20.6% of total investment, followed by Health (11.4%), Housing and Urban Development (10.3%), Education (7.2%), Energy (6.5%), and the Water Cycle (6.4%).