Salvador Navarro, president of the Valencian Community Business Confederation (CEV), agrees that “some of the measures to confront the effects of wars and inflation in Ukraine and the Middle East have been maintained since the beginning of the repression.” The social shield may have a negative impact on household income.” However, the leader of the regional employers’ association argues that the consequences that the withdrawal of the reduction in electricity and gas-related taxes could have on the production fabric are “worrying”.
Additionally, Navarro points out that business leaders “disagree on extending taxes on energy companies and banks.” “We believe these are taxes that make no sense and therefore should not be continued,” he adds.
Ana García Alcolea, secretary general of the CC OO-PV, points out that a number of measures, such as those affecting public transport, are “correct” because they will also help reduce emissions of polluting gases from private vehicles and reduce the workload. accidents in travel. He also praises the decision to prevent the eviction of vulnerable people, as well as the 3.8% increase in the revaluation of pensions.
However, the union leader expresses doubts about the effectiveness of reducing indirect taxes on basic foods: “Because these taxes affect the entire population, whether they have the economic resources to spend it or not.” According to García, “VAT reduction sometimes led to increased food prices in order to increase the profits of some companies.” It also regrets that the Government did not listen to the proposals of the trade unions, as the CC OO pointed out in time, regarding the approval of aid to the most vulnerable people in the face of the inflation crisis.
“Relax some measures”
For UGT-PV general secretary Ismael Sáez, it was stated that “in addition to continuing some measures such as discounts on transportation and reducing VAT on food, changes will also be made to other measures such as increasing taxes for some supplies.” In his opinion, the extension of the aid agreement in 2024, limited only to the manufacturing industry and physically demanding tasks, is “particularly noteworthy”, according to him.