Governance in the State

Junqueras warns the PSOE: "The Catalan Treasury cannot be subordinated to the Spanish one."

Esquerra will also bring to Congress an initiative to manage all taxes

BarcelonaWith the bilateral commission between the State and the Generalitat (Catalan regional government) scheduled to meet this Monday on the new financing, the leader of the Catalan Socialist Workers' Party (ERC), Oriol Junqueras, has made clear the red lines for his party. This comes in a context where the PSOE and ERC are deadlocked over the finalization of personal income tax collection, Spanish-style. "The Catalan Treasury must coordinate with the other agencies, but it must be able to fully exercise its powers and functions and cannot be subordinated to the state agency. Furthermore, it must do so within well-defined timeframes," Junqueras made clear, claiming the entire personal income tax: "It is the most important tax, contributing €25 billion annually, and if Catalonia managed the personal income tax in every way, we would go from managing €5 billion to €30 billion, a very significant leap because it is half of the taxes we pay." amount, management and deadlines," he stressed.

He said this in the midst of talks between the PSOE and Esquerra to pass a law in Congress that will give Catalonia the capacity to collect personal income tax. According to the sources consulted, the content of the bilateral commission, which has been worked on by the Generalitat, the State and Esquerra, is already practically finalized to guarantee the ordinality, solidarity and collection of personal income tax from Catalonia. there is no understanding with the small print.

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After expressing his "satisfaction" with convincing the governments of Catalonia and Spain to move toward a new financing and revenue model, Junqueras reiterated that the PSOE must now fulfill that commitment. At the same time, the ERC leader announced that his party will present a legislative reform to Congress in the coming days to ensure that the Catalan Tax Agency can manage personal income tax, which is "the first objective," but also "the rest of the tax system in the future," that is, all taxes.

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"Under no circumstances will we stop fighting for what is good for Catalonia," said Junqueras, who hopes to receive the support of the other parties that supported Pedro Sánchez's investiture. "ERC is there to ensure that Catalonia has all the resources it needs to face the country's economic and social challenges," he added.

For this reason, the president of Esquerra has warned that if both President Salvador Illa and Sánchez want the support of the Republicans, both governments will have to work "clearly in defense of the interests of Catalonia." "We cannot aspire to new agreements if current agreements are not fulfilled," he asserted, citing the budgets as an example, which remain stalled both in Spain and in Catalonia. "They will only be good if Catalonia has all the necessary resources," he emphasized.

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Response from the Spanish government

The First Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, asserted that as long as the PSOE governs, "there will never be privileges for some territories over others." She said this from Cádiz, two days after the bilateral negotiations on financing. The Vice President asserted that the "territorial grievances" the PP is raising regarding the financing negotiations are "lies" and defended that the Socialists are working to "promote equality" for citizens.

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The Comunes (Spanish Parliament) also pledged to "push" to "guarantee a good agreement for Catalonia on the financing model." In a speech at the National Council of Catalonia in Common, the coordinator, Candela López, affirmed that current financing is "insufficient for the country's challenges" and that a model is needed that "overcomes the system that favors Ayuso's fiscal system to the detriment of everyone."