catalonias frustrated dream to tax and spend like basques
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

In Catalonia, experts and commentators say

Catalonia's frustrated dream: to tax and spend like Basques

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Catalonia's frustrated dream: to tax and spend like Basques

Spain's refusal to extend the tax
Madrid - Emirates Voice

Spain's refusal to extend the tax-and-spend privileges enjoyed by the wealthy Basque region, which collects its own taxes and spends the money as it pleases, has fuelled the rise of separatism in Catalonia, experts and commentators say.
"Why the Basques and not the Catalans?" asked Catalan daily La Vanguardia recently.
Most of Spain's regions pay taxes to the central government and then receive a portion in return to spend on health, education and public infrastructure.
The sole exceptions are the northern Basque Country and its twin region Navarre which collect their own taxes and decide for themselves how to spend the money.
The two regions, which have Spain's highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capital after the Madrid region, contribute a minimal amount to the central government, mainly for defence, and pay little to an interregional solidarity fund.
They are also reimbursed part of the value-added tax collected on their home turf. 
As a result, "public spending in the Basque Country is double the average of the rest of Spain. It's an unbearable inequality and it is not unrelated to the Catalan problem," said Alain Cuenca, an expert on regional financing at the University of Zaragoza.
The issue has fuelled separatist sentiment in Catalonia in the run-up to a contested independence referendum in the northeastern region slated for October 1, but which Madrid has vowed to stop.
- 'Feeling of injustice' -
The Basque Country's fiscal privileges were granted during the 19th century, then partially abolished during General Francisco Franco's 1939-75 dictatorship, and finally restored in Spain's 1978 democratic constitution.
The decision to re-establish the privileges was taken in large part due to the pressure created by the deadly attacks carried out by the Basque separatist group ETA, which was very active at the time, experts said.
"There is a feeling of injustice on the part of many Catalans" when they look at the Basque region's advantages, said political science professor Joan Botella of Barcelona's Autonomous University.
In addition, the Basque regional government regularly refuses to pay what it owes to Madrid without any real sanctions, Cuenca said.
"For example, they must pay for military planes, and when they disagree (with the sum demanded), they don't," he said.
- Fiscal deficit -
Catalonia, on the other hand, pays more in taxes to the central government each year than it gets back in investment and services, although the two sides disagree over the precise figure.
The Catalonia regional government puts this "fiscal deficit" at around 16 billion euros ($19 billion) per year, while Madrid estimates it at around 10 billion euros.
The fiscal problem "has not been the only reason for the independence movement, but was a very important one," said Botella.
The issue was thrust to the centre stage of Catalan politics after conservative nationalist Artur Mas became president of the region in 2010. He swiftly proposed a new fiscal agreement for the region similar to the Basque model.
Faced with a refusal by Spain's Prime minister Mariano Rajoy, Mas in 2013 called early elections in Catalonia, which he won after campaigning on a promise to hold an independence referendum.
Until then, calls for a vote on secession had been limited to the more radical fringes of the separatist movement.
- 'Go bankrupt' -
Frustration played a "very significant" role in the rise of the strength of the independence movement, but is not the only factor, said Caroline Gray, an expert on Spanish independence movements at Britain's Aston University.
"It goes beyond the financial aspect in the sense that it is not just wanting more money for Catalonia, it is wanting the right to decide over these type of things. It is not just a financial issue, it is about control and authority," she added.
Thanks to their fiscal autonomy, Basques have a relationship with Madrid "that no political force in Catalonia could ever establish with the Spanish government," the current president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, said earlier this month.
But analysts said it would be difficult for Catalonia to get the same deal as the Basques, because it accounts for a far greater share of Spain's economy -- about 20 percent -- than the Basque Country, which accounts for just six percent.
"If we did the same thing with Catalonia, Spain would go bankrupt," said Cuenca.
The question is trickier now that Rajoy heads a minority government, which relies on the five votes of Nationalist Basque Party (PNV) in parliament to pass legislation.
Botella said that when the "smoke clears" from the contested referendum, "the fiscal question will be one of the keys to the solution".

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

catalonias frustrated dream to tax and spend like basques catalonias frustrated dream to tax and spend like basques

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

catalonias frustrated dream to tax and spend like basques catalonias frustrated dream to tax and spend like basques

 



GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 07:16 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Macron's tapestry gesture risks rousing

GMT 23:45 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Europe in the pink of health, feels Bjorn

GMT 16:03 2017 Friday ,05 May

Ban on Omani foods

GMT 03:07 2017 Saturday ,30 September

Facebook helps UAE resident reunite with brother

GMT 00:05 2017 Wednesday ,15 November

Deadly heat from climate change may hit slums hardest

GMT 10:18 2016 Thursday ,27 October

Sharjah Book Fair’s Professional Programme attracts

GMT 13:56 2012 Sunday ,21 October

King Mohammed VI Gulf tour

GMT 19:28 2017 Sunday ,12 March

Carlos the Jackal faces trial again in France

GMT 05:55 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

US tax reforms send UBS profits plunging

GMT 06:01 2018 Saturday ,20 January

How to take a bullet, by 'Den of Thieves' star 50 Cent

GMT 23:50 2018 Thursday ,18 January

1.5 C climate goal 'very unlikely' but doable

GMT 08:42 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Was preparing new version of 'Zombie'

GMT 13:06 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

The London Fashion Agency relaunches as LFA

GMT 14:17 2017 Friday ,03 February

Facing Trump trade threats, Mexico eyes new partners

GMT 10:33 2017 Thursday ,28 December

Putin files nomination for 2018 re-election bid

GMT 08:01 2017 Tuesday ,21 November

China's Tencent overtakes Facebook

GMT 10:15 2017 Tuesday ,21 November

US-Saudi warplanes hit Sanaa

GMT 07:42 2010 Wednesday ,15 September

Global regulators agree on tougher Basel III bank rules
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice