Three years after the appointment, the president of the Airef, Cristina Herrero, charged hard yesterday against her predecessor in the position, José Luis Escrivá, for going directly from the institution to the Ministry of Social Security because it casts a shadow of doubt on the organ He said this during the seminar organized by the Association of Economic Information Journalists (APIE) that is held at the Menéndez Pelayo International University, in Santander, days after the strong confrontation that took place when Escrivá criticized the latest report of the Airef on the minimum vital income (IMV), in which it was reported that two thirds of the potential beneficiaries did not receive it. The IMV is managed by the Ministry of Escrivá.
The Independent Fiscal Responsibility Authority (Airef) is responsible for analyzing the policies of public administrations. “When this step takes place, somehow we feel that we had to reaffirm our independence”, detailed Herrero. The president of Airef also regretted that Minister Escrivá made “value judgments”, as when he pointed out that the institution thought it was wrong for people to leave the IMV. In his speech, Herrero recalled that one of Airef’s objectives is to “break the informational symmetry” and allow citizens “to be more informed and governments to self-discipline”.
With regard to the economic situation, he predicted that this second quarter of the year Spain’s GDP will exceed the pre-pandemic level, therefore, it will leave behind the loss of covid.
Subsequently, the vice-president of Labor and Sumar’s candidate, Yolanda Díaz, announced a “structural, deep and comprehensive” tax reform, although with almost no concreteness of the exact measures. The policy assured that “the debate is not to raise or lower taxes, but to eliminate privileges”. In his opinion, “the Spanish tax system is profoundly unfair”.
He did not give details on specific measures, such as his wealth tax strategy. Nor about whether he would lower taxes. “The priorities are to increase tax progressivity through income”, he declared.
Regarding Vice President Nadia Calviño’s request to the bank to increase the remuneration of deposits, Díaz replied that it is necessary to focus on mortgages.
On the other hand, at the same forum, the vice-president of the ECB, Luis de Guindos, in a conversation with former minister Carlos Solchaga, recalled in a generic way that the rate hike must reach the remuneration of deposits because it is a way to stimulate consumption.
Regarding mortgages, Díaz defended his proposal made a few days ago to launch a bond to help those with variable rate mortgages to cope with increases in fees. The proposal – which would have a cost of 1,000 million and would be financed with the banking tax – would be 1,000 euros per person for mortgages of up to 250,000 euros and of at least ten years.
Díaz claimed the increases in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) and pointed out that the president of the Spanish Government and leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, “has fallen short” with his proposal to guarantee by law the rise of the SMI to a 60% of the average salary.
At the seminar, the leaders of CC.OO., Unai Sordo, and of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez, maintained their request to the PP to define more clearly the proposals in economic matters during the electoral campaign. From the employers’ union CEOE, its president, Antonio Garamendi, assured that the labor reform agreed a year and a half ago with the unions and the Central Government is valid and it is not necessary to reform it.
