The First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, defended this Monday that the possibility of having a fiscal framework, “no longer European, even global”, in which companies operate, with a type of Companies “lowest common”, in order to avoid “race to the bottom”, after Ferrovial has decided to move its headquarters from Spain to the Netherlands.
This was what Calviño said during an interview on RNE, in which the vice president also called Ferrovial’s decision “wrong”, warning that all “the implications” arising from his departure will be analyzed.
The “Netherlands have improved a lot in recent years, the same as other European countries, partly thanks to the pressure that there has been from the institutions and from countries like Spain”, said Calviño, who nevertheless defends a framework “no longer European, even global” in which there is a “common” minimum type of taxation in Societies, which “avoids this flight or competition” between tax systems because it is a “race to the bottom that impoverishes us all” and at this point , gave the example that “the same” happens with the Spanish autonomous communities that decide to lower taxes compared to those that do not.
The vice president insisted on her position that Ferrovial’s decision is “erroneous” and that “the implications” of her departure will be analyzed considering that the company’s arguments “are not sustained” and “cast serious doubts”.
He also opined that the fact that the company closed on the stock market on the first day of listing after the decision with a rise of 0.61% means that “the market has not integrated this change in a substantive way, which contributes” to the argument of the Executive that “the arguments given by the company are not understood”. Furthermore, he stated that Germany is also a triple A country and this country could have been chosen.
The vice president did not want to “speculate” on whether Ferrovial changes its registered office to pay less taxes. She has also indicated that she is not aware that the president of the company, Rafael del Pino, is trying to speak with the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. At this point, she affirmed that Sánchez “has very fluid relations with the big businessmen of this country.”
When asked about the possibility of expanding the basket of products for which VAT has been lowered, the vice president stressed that the measures should be evaluated “very carefully” and that a “general” drop in VAT should be used “with extraordinary character because it has many negative side effects”.
However, he immediately stated that the drop practiced since the beginning of the year is having an impact and the evolution of the price of these foods “is different.”
As the vice president explained in an interview this Sunday in La Vanguardia, the government’s forecast is that inflation will drop this year, although Calviño predicted “a lot of volatility” month by month due to the comparison with last year, when there was an escalation of the most pronounced inflation, although he stressed that “levels of practically half that of last year” will be seen.
Regarding the new rule that the Government plans to approve tomorrow, Tuesday, in the Council of Ministers, to accelerate the objective of women reaching a 40% quota on the boards of directors of large companies, Calviño justified it in that Until now there were “recommendations” and the new standard is intended to “accelerate this process.”
When questioned about the lack of a female president of the Government, she defended that there are three vice presidents in the current Executive, which “demonstrates this progress.”
He also pointed out, regarding the codes of good practice for vulnerable mortgagees and to improve care for the elderly, that this Thursday he will meet with financial organizations, with consumers and with Carlos San Juan to evaluate their operation and see “if we have to take additional measures”.
Finally, regarding the ‘Mediator case’, Calviño aligned himself with the version given by other ministers that he is not aware of “any relationship” between this case and the European funds for recovery. Likewise, he stressed that the relationship with the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (Fiiapp), which she chairs, will be investigated internally, although “the audits that have been carried out do not reveal any inappropriate conduct.”
