When last week the Minister of Economy, Natàlia Mas, presented her proposal for a unique financing model for Catalonia, she wanted to emphasize that one of the characteristics would be “transparency”. And he said it as a contrast to the Basque model of concert or quota in which the calculation of contribution to the State is not easy to do. In fact, sources from the Euskadi Ministry of Economy said that the figure is the result of a “very complex” calculation and that it is currently equivalent to 6.24% of the services provided by the State to the community. In 2021, the quota was 1,403 million euros.
If this amount of the quota is transferred to the model proposed by the Generalitat, it would mean that, of all that the Basque Government collected in 2021 (15,963 million euros), it handed over the aforementioned 1,403 million to the Central State, the amount equivalent to 8.8% of the collection. Sources from the Basque Government’s Ministry of Economy were quick to point out that the contribution of the quota is independent of the collection, since a fixed amount must be paid if what is collected via taxes. And the Department of Economy of the Generalitat insisted that the Basque model cannot be compared with the one proposed by the Government.
Nevertheless, if a “fictitious economy” exercise were carried out and extrapolated what the Basque quota represents in terms of its income in the case of the proposed Catalan model, it would mean that Catalonia’s contribution should to be around 4,600 million, 8.8% of the 52,000 million potential collection for 2021, as detailed in the presentation of the project.
To this amount, solidarity with the rest of the communities should be added. It is an uncertain figure and one that the Generalitat has not wanted to quantify because – defense – it must be an element of negotiation. Nevertheless, Minister Mas in an interview last year pointed out that acceptable solidarity with the rest of Spain should be between 2 and 4% of GDP. This translated into euros and for 2021 implies a range of between 4,900 and 9,800 million. Adding those amounts to the contribution to the State (4,600 million), give total figures of between 9,500 and 14,400 million. Considering that the expected gain of the Generalitat with the new model is 26,000 million, the situation would be more positive for the Generalitat than with the current system.
The comments made by the Generalitat to defend its model have not pleased the Basque Government due to the comparisons made, especially with regard to the lack of solidarity of the regional funding model. The Minister of Economy and Finance, Pedro Azpiazu, declared last week that “the economic concert is a differentiated financing system protected by the Spanish Constitution, agreed bilaterally with the State. It is solidarity, unique and involves a unilateral risk. Our system dates back to 1878 and includes solidarity mechanisms, such as our contribution to the Interterritorial Compensation Fund. We pay 6.24% of the unassumed burdens reflected in the State budget, a higher percentage than our population weight. I respect the demands of other autonomies, but I demand scruples regarding our financing system”.
The current Generalitat’s proposal – which recalls Artur Mas’s failed tax pact – basically consists of the Generalitat collecting 100% of taxes, companies and VAT included, as the Basque Government already does.
