This Wednesday, the Government of the Generalitat approved the 2024 budgets marked by the policies to combat drought and the sharp increase in expenses to pay the debt. They are expansive accounts in which the large figures in the accounts were already known. Expense grows by 9.6%, up to 43,673 million, including all items. If only the departments without payment of interest or previous debts are taken into account, the increase is 2,443 million, 6.3% more.
The Minister of Economy Natàlia Mas has today delivered the 2024 Budget project almost a month after what she did last year. At the earliest, the accounts that have been agreed with the PSC would come into force in the second quarter of the year, in mid-April. Before that it will be necessary to have more support.
The budget highlights the investment effort that will lead the Generalitat to spend 3,064 million in 2024. With a growth of 9.7%, it is the largest investment since 2011.
The accounts are the first to include, for the first time in years, a general reduction in income tax (IRPF) for taxpayers with incomes of less than 33,000 euros, 73% of the total, as La Vanguardia reported. The impact of the measure is only 56 million euros.
As usual, the item that receives the most important part of the resources is healthcare. Its budget is 12,059 million, 5.6% more than in previous accounts. In addition to that amount, the Government of Pere Aragonès will allocate an extra 800 million euros to reduce the chronic debt that the health area carries. This department is the only one that can skip budgets and spend what it needs.
For example, last year the merited spending (what was actually executed) on health was almost 15.2 billion while the real budget for this year is almost 3,000 euros less. Therefore, in 2024, a deficit will be generated again in the department (called displaced spending) that will try to be partially reduced with the extraordinary health fund of 800 million.
Education is the second area with the highest volume of expenses: 7,508 million, 10% more than in 2023. As happened last year, in the budgets the weight of social spending (health, education and social rights) with respect to the total is has reduced to 72.6%. In 2023 it was 73.2% and in 2022 it was 74.6%. Sources from the Department of Economy have explained that this lower weight is because they have had to face the increase in debt interest and anti-drought policies.
In a press conference, Minister Mas questioned what is considered social spending and specified that fighting drought is a form of “social spending.”
The payment of the aforementioned interests has grown by 76%, up to 1,372 million as a consequence of the increase in rates. In the case of policies against drought, the amount exceeds 1,000 million.
On the income side, this year’s accounts highlight an extra 2,000 million from the liquidation of the financing model. In the wealth tax, the Government foresees a drop in collection of 4%, to 633 million. Sources from the department stated that they anticipate less collection because last year there were several fraud files that increased collection and that this exercise is not expected to be repeated.
