Sumar wants to know what criteria the government follows to grant public subsidies to large companies. After elDiario.es published that a hundred companies concentrated in 2023 more than half of the large subsidies granted in Spain during the year, the parliamentary group registered a battery of questions to obtain more details. It also wants to know if the Executive plans to exclude from this type of aid companies with aggressive tax practices or, for example, that have applied an ERE.
According to information collected by the Treasury since 2023 and until June of this year, 1,697 commercial companies have received at least one million in public aid: 7,856 million in total subsidies. The analysis of these almost 1,700 companies, based on the information available in the Commercial Registry or in the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), reveals that in reality this money has gone to 1,400 companies, since in many cases they are companies belonging to large business groups.
Sumar’s deputy spokesperson and MP, Aina Vidal, registered a series of questions on Tuesday to find out what criteria the government follows to grant this aid, especially in light of the fact that some of the beneficiary companies have presented in the “aggressive tax practices” of recent years. “Among the beneficiary companies, some have governance systems that can favor more lax taxation or aggressive growth strategies with an impact on employment, without taking into account those whose main partners have benefited from tax amnesties in the past,” they say.
They also give the example of Avatel, whose growth “through absorption of other companies” they point out was “accompanied by an ERE affecting a significant percentage of the workforce while its managers increased their salaries and boasted of the subsidies received from the State.”
For this reason, the representative wants to know whether, when granting these subsidies, and especially when it comes to large companies, the government takes into consideration criteria that exclude companies with this type of tax practices or that have submitted an ERE. “Is the government considering introducing employment conditions in its industrial policy for large companies that receive subsidies, such as excluding from subsidies those that have carried out an ERE?” he asks.
“What is the absolute amount and percentage that Spanish SMEs have received from the State compared to the total aid to large companies? What mechanisms does the government have to ensure that an adequate amount of funds reaches SMEs? What measures does the government plan to introduce to encourage the participation of Spanish SMEs in State public procurement?
