Businessmen consider that the tax reform leaves out the correction of the deficit that Brussels calls for | Economy | EUROtoday

The Círculo de Empresarios criticizes the Government’s strategy in getting ready the State Budget for 2025, as a result of, in its opinion, it essentially addresses better tax strain on residents and corporations, and “leaves out the necessary correction of spending and reduction of the bureaucracy” required by the new European fiscal rules. Furthermore, they point out that the way the coalition government proceeds shows “the struggle and pressures of minority parliamentary partners, who impose models and wills that are far from the opinion of the majority of the political center.” This was reflected in a statement published this Tuesday by the Círculo de Empresarios – the think tank of the Spanish employers’ association – in which they miss the structural reforms and the proposals to reduce unnecessary public spending requested by Brussels. At the same time, it should be pointed out that some of the tax figures that have been put on the table in recent weeks are “of dubious quality and legal technique,” ​​which “turns the corporate tax system into a puzzle deterrent to their activity.”

Although businessmen have highlighted the fiscal collection effort deployed to face the social challenges that derived from the pandemic and the subsequent inflationary tensions, – such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine -, they emphasize that it does not seem appropriate to focus on the correction of public accounts via increased collection. Even less by adding new tax figures “not existing in other fiscal areas.” In this sense, they insist that the collection focus must remain on “recognizable and not surprising” tax figures and rates, and the management of the irregular economy must be improved.

The tax reform that the Government had been proposing for weeks is stuck due to the discrepancies between the left and right partners. The Finance Commission, held on Monday in the Congress of Deputies, managed to reach a consensus among the parties that support the Executive on a minimum opinion that will have to be debated in the Plenary Session on Thursday. Most of the aspirations of the PSOE and Sumar, among which were a tax increase on diesel and the extension of extraordinary taxes on large banking and energy companies, have fallen by the wayside, which means leaving in the air more than 4,000 million euros a year in income.

Regarding the intricate processing of tax measures, businessmen demand from parliamentary groups the need “to defend authorized certainty to guard the rule of regulation.” To this end, they ask for transparency in the negotiation and approval of tax regulations and believe that the incorporation of taxes through amendments to the articles of a bill being processed in Congress prevents public debate. Likewise, they regret the possible negative impact of this situation in the world of financial reputation and warn of a potential loss of value in the markets, as well as a decrease in new investments that find better locations.

“The tax system must be fair and equitable and not cause discrimination,” the employers’ association says in its statement. In which he criticizes some of the most controversial amendments that have been in question in Parliament in recent days, such as the one that addresses banking taxes. By the way, they affirm that this tax “can have the impact of a smaller quantity of credit and dearer ones for almost all of residents and corporations that should resort to debt.” “Apparently, little of all this is being taken into account by the legislator when proposing tax measures,” they add.

Businessmen also take the opportunity to demand the participation of officials specialized in tax legal techniques in the preparation of these rules, “to stop them from being appealed and the taxpayer additionally ending up paying for litigation misplaced by the State.” In this sense, they regret that “with 40 days left till the top of the yr, many corporations are unaware of the tax framework relevant for the yr 2025.”