Catalonia contributed €77.742 billion to the state coffers in 2022 (19.3% of the total for all autonomous communities) and received €56.650 billion (14% of the total). This means that Catalonia's fiscal deficit was €21.092 billion. These figures come from the latest fiscal balances calculated by the Generalitat (Catalan government), which ARA has accessed, and which will be made public this Friday as soon as the government approves the draft budget for 2026. Catalonia's fiscal deficit stood at 8.2% of GDP, roughly in line with the average since 1986 (8.1%). Each Catalan, therefore, contributed €2,670 more than they received.

ARA has obtained access to the Catalan government's official calculations on the fiscal deficit for 2022, and the conclusion is that while there is a slight decrease compared to the 2021 figures, it is clear that this is a structural problem in the relationship between Catalonia and the Spanish public sector. In 2022, the difference between what Catalonia contributed to the Spanish state coffers and what the state returned in the form of investments and public policies amounted to €21.092 billion, a figure equivalent to 8.2% of Catalan GDP. The previous year, the fiscal deficit calculated using the monetary flow method was €22.013 billion, or 9.6% of GDP. In one year, the difference was reduced by approximately €1 billion and slightly more than one percentage point of GDP.

The Catalan government estimates that Catalonia's fiscal deficit in 2019 was €20.2bn, the equivalent of 8.5% of Catalan gross domestic product (GDP), according to calculations by the Catalan Department of Economy and Finance. The data shows a deepening of the Catalan fiscal deficit compared to the last published figures, from 2016, when the deficit was €17bn and was equivalent to 8% of GDP.