The economic proposal of Espai CiU-PDECat for the general elections on July 23 is for Catalonia to enjoy a new regional financing model in the style of the foral regime that the Basque Country and Navarre have.
The formation headed by Roger Montañola advocates that the Generalitat have ownership of all the taxes paid in Catalonia, and also calls for the transfer of regulatory powers so that the autonomous community can operate with “full sovereignty”, as stated in the Financing proposal for the post-convergent brand, to which this medium has had access.
In the opinion of the candidacy, the Tax Agency of Catalonia should be able to “collect, manage, settle and inspect all the taxes generated in Catalonia”. For example, one of the first measures that those from Montañola want to promote, if they obtain representation in the Congress of Deputies, is that the corporate tax be ceded to the Catalan administration to expand the deductions in the reinvestment of profits in projects of innovation and research.
The PDECat considers that the “chronic fiscal deficit” suffered by Catalonia is a “very serious” problem that weighs down and “obstructs” competitiveness and economic and social progress. For this reason, they argue, “it is necessary for Catalonia to have its own treasury as a result of a new singular concert” and for a quota or contribution to be negotiated with the central government for the services provided by the State in Catalonia; the equivalent of the Basque and Navarrese quota.
These initiatives are connected with some of the historical demands of sovereignty. At the beginning of the process, the pro-independence groups, led by the Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, demanded a fiscal pact.
That request appeared in the petition document that both Artur Mas and Carles Puigdemont submitted to the central executive in vain when Mariano Rajoy was president of the government. Mas formulated more than 20 proposals in 2012. Puigdemont, for his part, raised the number of demands to 46.
