The population of the periphery of Catalonia has been demanding actions and resources for years to access more services and stop the depopulation process. One of the tools being considered to combat the territorial imbalance is the statute of rural municipalities, which is now beginning the process for its approval. Among other measures, the text proposes special treatment for these localities, in the future regulations of all departments of the Generalitat, and deductions in the regional personal income tax quota for the purchase or rental of primary residences in these destinations far from the capital.
The draft of the draft law was passed on Tuesday by the Technical Council of the Government, tomorrow it will be published in the DOGC and the period for the presentation of allegations opens. If the forecasts are met, the Government could approve the statute in March 2024, then it would enter Parliament with the objective of it being operational in 2025, according to David Rodríguez, Secretary of Local Governments and Relations with the Aran .
The document proposes a kind of positive discrimination, which must be reflected in “any new local legislation that is approved; Every time there is a regulatory review, specific consideration must be given to these municipalities; an example would be the public procurement law that is currently being processed,” notes Rodríguez.
The first step has been to define what a rural municipality is. This is understood as one with less than 2,000 neighbors that is part of a rural region (according to the OECD, which has a minimum of 15% of residents in localities with a population density of less than 150 inhabitants per square kilometer). And those with less than 500 registered residents will receive “special attention.” Of the total of 947 municipalities in Catalonia, 61% (580, of which 381 special attention) fit into this category and are the ones that will benefit from treatment aimed at their protection.
The draft bill, which has been presented to the different parliamentary groups to seek maximum consensus, establishes deductions in the regional personal income tax quota for taxpayers who move their habitual residence to a town with the aforementioned characteristics, and who also have minor dependent children. 16 years old enrolled in the educational center of the area in question. The deductible amount is 750 euros (1,000 in special attention municipalities), which in the case of single-parent families rises to 1,500. Likewise, a reduction of between 15% and 20% of the amounts paid during the tax period for the purchase of a main residence is contemplated.
Mayors have been demanding a certain flexibility in urban planning regulations for some time to overcome the housing deficit. Furthermore, the staff available to carry out the procedures is scarce. In this area, the draft introduces different measures. One of them is for the Territori department to create a working commission with municipal entities to adapt the legislation in this area to rural reality and needs. It also establishes “favoring family housing on non-developable land on rural farms to facilitate their continuity or generational change” and creating a pool of rural properties available in all the delegations of the Agència d’Habitatge de Catalunya.
Regarding economic resources, David Rodríguez explains that in the calls for subsidies these municipalities have a higher score and that the percentage of aid is higher. And specifically he cites the increase of between 10% and 15% in the financial allocations of the Local Cooperation Fund and that there is a specific line of capital transfers within the framework of the works and services programs.
In short, the objective is to adapt new legislation as much as possible to facilitate the daily life of small municipalities, some of which are in danger of extinction. Now the status so demanded by the municipal associations opens to a period of allegations and if everything goes as planned it could be a reality in 2025