The new minister also does not yield: Catalonia will not collect the IRPF

Barcelona"The position is very clear", the Ministers of Finance keep repeating, even though the hottest topic regarding IRPF collection is in the doldrums. First it was María Jesús Montero who closed the door on the transfers agreed between ERC and PSC, and now her successor has taken on this role. Arcadi España assures that the Spanish government will not move from the agreement signed between Moncloa and the Generalitat in the meeting of the Bilateral Commission last July: "For all the autonomous communities and also for Catalonia, we have the will to increase management capacity, always within the framework of the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT)". What does it mean? Basically, that the transfer to Catalonia of the collection of 100% of the IRPF is not a commitment that the state executive is making its own, and that, in any case, it will be the AEAT that will have the competences in management and collection. The Tax Agency of Catalonia (ATC) would have to be content with collaborating in "a networked tax management model", as specified in the Bilateral document.

Montero personally called JunquerasMontero personally called Junqueras to insist that the ATC would not collect the IRPF, which led to Esquerra's refusal to approve Salvador Illa's budgets. Now, however, ERC and PSC are negotiating again, having eliminated the red line of the IRPF, a stumbling block for now insurmountable.

In the summer of 2024, socialists and republicans agreed that the ATC would collect 100% of personal income tax from 2026 onwards, and they themselves later adjusted the calendar, seeing that the Catalan administration was not prepared to assume this workload. The commitment was moved to January 2028. But everything depends on the will of the Spanish government, which would have to modify tax law and has already said it has no interest in it. "After the Andalusian elections we will have more options," say sources from both PSC and ERC, although the Ministry of Finance does not take it with much interest. Not even now, with a minister of a dialoguing and receptive nature to federalist proposals.

In search of alternatives

PSC and ERC have been negotiating the Generalitat's budgets for weeks, once the Republicans renounced the IRPF as a red line. Now they are looking for an alternative with which Esquerra can please its voters. Beyond the budgetary items, the breakthrough would come if a sufficiently relevant cession of sovereignty is achieved so that, now yes, ERC unblocks the 2026 accounts.

The most advanced is the investment consortium, a mixed Generalitat-State structure to control the execution of investments in Catalonia, which have been structurally below what Catalan society required (a statement endorsed by the current Spanish government). It will begin to be processed imminently in the Congress of Deputies, but ERC has already said that this will not be enough. The transfer of Rodalies is another of the pending issues to be resolved. For the moment, a mixed company between the Generalitat and Renfe has been created that should manage the service, but there is still a lot of small print to resolve.

This Wednesday in Parliament, the Catalan Airport Authority was also discussed, where the Generalitat should play a relevant role in the governance of Catalan ports and airports. The executive council approved its creation a few months ago. This Wednesday, President Illa responded to the Republicans' question, assuring that this will be possible "in a fairly immediate horizon". This new entity is also part of the pending investiture agreements to be materialized.

And, in parallel to the negotiations with Catalonia, PSC and ERC see how Pedro Sánchez is unblocking new agreements with the Basque Country on matters as relevant as the management of unemployment benefits or Basque airports.