The PSOE’s agreement with Junts and the PNV to remove the energy tax and maintain only the banking tax, however, has the rejection of the rest of the Government’s parliamentary partnersthose who are to the left of the socialists.
Specifically, Sumar, ERC, Bildu and Podemos They oppose agreed amendments that are being drafted into the bill to ensure minimum taxation of multinationals. These parties assure that they will continue to negotiate with the socialists during the parliamentary process, but they are starting from a position that would cause the agreement between the socialists and the Junts to fail.
On the other side of the spectrum, the government cannot count on the votes of the PP and Vox either and, therefore, Today she risks a parliamentary defeat which would be resounding since it is a fundamental question.
Sumar assures that his position is to make permanent the taxes on energy companies and those on banks, which has been transmitted several times to the PSOE. They explain that in fact, These taxes are in the inauguration agreement of Pedro Sánchez.
Sumar’s sources add data to support their position such as “the five largest electricity companies earned 7,770 million euros in the first half of 2024, already with the tax already active.”
They detail that these companies earned “12% more than in 2022 with the Ukrainian crisis where prices skyrocketed, that the tax pressure in our country remains between four and five points below the euro zone average ; that it is possible to increase taxes on big businesses.” A few days ago, another study pointed out that inflation is largely caused by corporate profits and that a message of tax justice must be sent.
For their part, Bildu and ERC jointly presented their amendments and specified that their votes “will never be at the service of those who intend to put an end to a common sense measure such as taxes on banks and energy companies”, shared by the majority of Basque and Catalan societies and that, therefore, they would not understand their withdrawal”.
Mertxe Aizpurua and Gabriel Rufián, spokesperson for EH Bildu and ERC in Congress.
In the amendments presented this Wednesday to the European transposition on corporate taxes, they recommended maintaining these taxes and increasing the tax rate on banks and energy. Consequently, “the permanence of these taxes will be subject to debate and vote within the Congressional Finance Commission, therefore all parliamentary groups will have to express and establish their position on the issue” they say.
They conclude that “All parties will have to decide whether they aspire to a Madrid-style tax model or an assimilable tax model. to the most advanced countries in Europe, in which those who have the most contribute more to be able to maintain quality universal public services.
The fact is that not only does the government not intend to maintain the tax on energy companies, but but this will reduce the effect that banking can have. To begin with, according to the amendments proposed by the socialist group (representative of the Ministry of Finance) It will be temporary and applicable only for three consecutive years starting in 2024..
If it materializes, it will be dedicated to the taxation of the interest margin and commissions obtained by credit institutions and branches of foreign entities in Spain for the activity they carry out in our country.
Progressive type
The tax rate will be progressive (from 1% to 6% depending on the tax base) and will allow the deduction of 25% of the company quota. Furthermore, an extraordinary deduction will be introduced in the event that entities suffer a lasting drop in their profitability.
In addition, Provincial territories will be able to freely reduce the taxgenerating a sort of dumping autonomous taxation in the financial sector.
Europe Press
But the new temporary tax on banks will not be the only tax measure that the socialists want to implement and for which they need the support (and the vote) of Pedro Sánchez’s inauguration partners. As this newspaper has already reported, the Ministry of Finance wants to execute a kind of tax reform in 2025 (already committed to Brussels) and this includes a battery of tax increases.
Among the most notable is the tax equalization between diesel and gasoline, a measure which will involve increasing the price of diesel. However, this initiative will not apply to professional diesel.
In addition, Taxes on cigarettes and other types of tobacco will be increased. And a tax will be created to tax liquids and nicotine used by vapers and electronic cigarettes.
The objective is also to increase taxes on big assets with an increase of one point in the taxation of capital income exceeding 300,000 euros (from 28% to 29%) to the personal income tax.
However, all these measures, presented in the form of amendments in the corresponding billthey must still be voted on in the Finance Committee and then in the plenary session of Congress.. It is then that we will see if the tax reform bears fruit or if the government suffers another parliamentary defeat.
