The exam that Jaume Collboni underwent this Friday, that of tax ordinances, did not go well at all. The proposal to update the minority socialist government for 2024 has once again been rejected by the opposition en bloc in the plenary session of the City Council, a week after it received a resounding no in the Economy and Finance commission. Nor has the mayor obtained an endorsement for the tax on terraces of bars and restaurants, which has been voted on separately and was presented after closing an agreement with the sector’s union. The support of the PP and Vox on this issue has not been enough.
The debate on tax ordinances has once again revealed the political background that is marking this beginning of the municipal mandate. The deputy mayor responsible for the economic area, Jordi Valls, has regretted that the proposal has failed because, in his opinion, what really matters to the two main opposition groups, Junts and BComú, is governing, being part of the municipal government. .
“They make a political vote, they put pressure on the government because they want to enter the government,” Valls emphasized. And what they propose is dichotomous since, he added, “some (Xavier Trias’s) want to lower the tax pressure and others (Ada Colau’s) want to raise it,” while the socialists defend a freeze. He has asked the former to end the “duel” for not having won the mayoralty and he has censured the latter for their “overacting” and “sterile excitement.”
Valls recalled that the tax ordinances that the government has presented do not increase the tax pressure on citizens, they had bonuses for hosting companies or investments in the field of research and innovation and incorporated an agreement for the terrace tax with the Gremi de Restauració, which represents large companies but also many small freelancers. The deputy mayor has said that it was difficult for him to understand why they were rejected.
After thanking them for the dialogue, the municipal head of economy added that the government will continue talking to the groups. “We will open conversations, today nothing ends, everything begins,” said Valls, knowing that the next test, that of the budget, is much more relevant than that of the tax ordinances since, even maintaining those currently in force – that is how it will be that there is no possibility of approving others – municipal income will be higher in 2024 due to the expected natural growth. Thus, the key in the coming weeks will be in the accounts, which still have some way to go to be approved despite the fact that Collboni’s team had to withdraw them from the last Economy and Finance Commission to avoid their rejection.
In the debate, Junts and BComú have once again disgraced Collboni for not having the will to negotiate, who has taken the straight path by presenting a proposal for tax ordinances without first having sought agreements with the groups. “They showed up without negotiating. They act as if they had an absolute majority. We are asked for trust, which we will talk about later. It is difficult,” lamented Ramon Tremosa, from the Trias group, who has defended the need to lighten some tax figures, such as the IBI, with a 2% reduction, to benefit families at a time when inflation is pressing.
“This is the second phase of the failure of a government. Today’s vote must be read as a true disapproval of the government,” said Jordi Martí, spokesman for the commons, who has insisted on the need for a left-wing pact, also with ERC. BComú already tried to disapprove Collboni a few days ago in view of this plenary session, but withdrew the proposal this Tuesday due to the lack of support from other groups, the confirmation of the agreement between PSOE and Sumar to govern Spain and pending a meeting of the mayor with Colau that no one has confirmed that it has occurred.
ERC has also been very critical of Collboni. “The city’s great challenges are not addressed, we do not know what its model is,” said Ernest Maragall, who lamented that the PSC “looks more to the right than the left” and tries to “sell the city in pieces.” giving satisfaction to private interests, among them those of the Gremi de Restauració.
Voting separately on the terrace tax opened the possibility that some groups would support it and it could move forward. The PP and Vox have finally endorsed it because, although it is not the model they would have applied, it has the support of the Gremi de Restauració. Until the beginning of the plenary session, the meaning of Junts’ vote was not known, which was decisive in tipping the balance. An abstention would have been enough to approve it. They finally rejected it.
In conversation with journalists, Tremosa has left open the door to finding some way to lower the rate, for example by approving a new bonus in an extraordinary plenary session in November. Valls has been open to exploring formulas that prevent fully applying the rate that was approved in 2019 and that has never been charged in full all these years since it has been subsidized by 75% due to the covid crisis. The point is that this cause no longer exists, making it difficult to justify a reduction.