Isabel Rodriguez, Minister for Land Policy and Government spokesperson, confirmed the Executive’s fiscal policy this Friday and warned that cuts in taxes “sounds good,” but “behind every tax cut there is a cut and inequality“.
In a dialogue within the framework of the PSC Autumn School, accompanied by the leader of the Catalan socialists, Salvador Illa, Rodriguez advocated a tax on extraordinary profits from energy companies and bankingemphasizing that they are a kind of “patriotism”.
“In this country, income from business that sustains the highest tax burden. Now is the time to help the country of those who have made unexpected gains. “There is no greater patriotism than you that can help Spain,” the spokesman said.
Rodríguez favored a fiscal policy that “guaranteed social justice” and favored some adjustments and reductions, such as reductions in the lowest portions of VAT on electricity or personal income tax, “but on a head, it would not lead to the situation in England”.
He also stressed that the tax system should be “proportionate”: “Let everyone contribute according to their resources and those who have more contribute more. What the government and the PSOE say today is not new, neither more nor less than what the Constitution says. What we do is demand it and implement it.”
“People hear ‘low taxes’ on the news or on the radio and it sounds good but Behind every tax cut there is a cut, behind every tax cut there is inequality.‘ he claimed.
On your own behalf Illa too was “surprised by the race to cut taxes”and he recalled the recent case of the UK, where the pound sterling hit record lows “because it wanted to lower taxes more than anyone else”.
In a Catalan key, Illa complained that politics was “too messy” and advocated “empowering” institutions.
Five years after the 1-O referendum, the leader of the Catalan Socialists said, “It’s time to think, so as not to make mistakes, move forward and continue to divide.”