The Government and the Commons have reached an agreement to postpone the new tourist tax in exchange for another 60 million for housing.

BarcelonaAgreement between Comuns and the Government to postpone the new tourist tax after the mess that arose in the Parliament last week, when the chamber overturned the delay of the new increases in this taxThe regional minister for the economy, Alícia Romero, and the leader of the Comunes party in the Parliament, Jéssica Albiach, have announced the agreement by which the purple group will change its vote and support the postponement in exchange for the government allocating an additional 60 million euros to housing policies. These resources are in addition to the total investment of 850 million euros in this portfolio. The Government and the Commons had agreed in the negotiation of the credit supplementsWith the votes of the Comuns (Spanish National Assembly), the Catalan government has secured a majority to delay the entry into force of the new rates, which are now being discussed in Parliament, until October. According to Romero, the ERC (Republican Party) will vote in favor. The Republicans had agreed with the executive to postpone this in exchange for introducing changes to the rate's design.

The Comuns (Spanish National Assembly) has now given the green light to the postponement after voting against it to defend what they had initially agreed with the Ministry of Economy: that the tourist tax be doubled throughout Catalonia and that all city councils (not just Barcelona) could establish a surcharge of up to four euros. Esquerra distanced itself from this agreement and The Council of Statutory Guarantees warned That, by doing so by decree, the executive branch was invading the powers of Parliament. The Catalan government then decided to postpone it, but ran into opposition from the Comuns party: when the postponement decree reached the Catalan parliament, they voted against it and overturned it. Junts, the People's Party (PP), Vox, and Aliança Catalana also voted against it, forcing the government to urgently approve a new postponement decree on Tuesday. In a press conference with Albiach, Romero once again criticized Junts for its vote: "Those who claim to defend the sector so much voted against the sector's requests," he said.

With this agreement, the Comuns (Communists) have conceded in the first clash with ERC in a two-way negotiation with the Catalan government. But they do so in exchange for three additional commitments, beyond the new 60 million euros per home—30 million will be used for preemptive purchase and redemption, and another 30 million will go to the local cooperation fund. "We have decided to take a step forward in the negotiation," explained Albiach. Thus, the Comuns (Communists) and the government have agreed to increase inspections of tourist apartments for the payment of the fee with a campaign that will also allow the census of these establishments to be updated to verify how many are active relative to the total number of licenses. The Barcelona Tourist Apartment Association (Apartur) has applauded this latest measure, demanded by the sector, but regretted that only increased inspections are being carried out in these businesses and not in the rest of the hospitality industry.

As a result of the agreement announced this Friday, the approval of the registry of large property owners will also be accelerated, which should be completed within a maximum of one month so that it can be operational by October. This should make it easier for these owners to properly pay the increased rates of the property transfer tax. also agreed between the Commons and the Government. On the other hand, the Comuns and Economia parties have also agreed to open a first round of proposals for the Barris Plan between June and July, so that it will reach at least 20 municipalities.

Next stop: the Parliament

The 60 million euros announced today will be covered by the third supplementary credit being prepared by the Government, amounting to 469 million euros. This figure corresponds to the resources that the Generalitat will not receive between May and October due to the postponement. Romero wished to thank Albiach for his "receptiveness" to negotiating a pact that maintains the alliance between the investiture partners, who, so far, are the ones that have approved almost all of the decrees that the Government has submitted to Parliament. The minister also noted that the resources from the tourist tax allow municipalities to invest in cleaning and security to offset the "inconvenience" that tourism causes in their municipalities. However, she also emphasized the "significant" impact it has on Catalan GDP and reminded the sector that since the tax began to be applied in Catalonia in 2013, tourism has increased by 5 million visitors, to 20 million.

Now, the PSC, Comuns, and ERC will have to explore an understanding in the parliamentary committee working on the reform of the tourist tax. After distancing themselves from the initial agreement between Comuns and the Catalan government, the Republicans registered an alternative proposal that proposes charging differently in high season than in low season, and which in some areas would mean a reduction in what is currently paid. Albiach has said he trusts the three groups can reach an understanding in the coming months in Parliament after a situation he called "absurd" following the split among the investiture partners in the vote on the tax last week.