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Montero advances that the deficit closed 2020 at around 11.3% of GDP

The Minister of Finance, Maria Jesus Montero, has advanced that the public deficit closed 2020 according to the forecast estimate of “around 11.3% of GDP”, with a fall in public income of about 7.6% as a consequence of the Covid crisis.

This is what Montero has indicated in an interview with Europa Press, in which he has pointed out that although the Executive will work for fiscal consolidation, it will continue with “anti-cyclical” policies and trusts to have expansive budgets again. “in 2022, postponing the adjustment plan to when there is recovery and” the European Commission demands it. ”

The head of the Treasury has affirmed that the figures provided by the Government for the public deficit and the fall in collection will be in the estimated surroundings, although throughout the month of January there will be a clearer approximation, once the accounting is closed and the autonomous communities and local entities report on their public finances.

Montero has stressed that the Government has “never” abandoned the path of fiscal consolidation and recalled that for the year 2021 the largest drop in terms of the percentage of deficit registered in a single fiscal year, from in around 3 points, going from 11.3% of GDP to 7.7% of GDP, after having been “prudent” in the preparation of public accounts.

“All administrations have to bear in mind going on a downward curve, but the economic situation has to accompany us,” Montero has indicated, to ensure that the Executive will not repeat the “mistakes” of the past by implementing cut policies that they translated into inequality.

Roadmap

For this reason, he explained that the roadmap is to continue stimulating growth with an “anti-cyclical” policy to “leave no one behind” and maintain the productive fabric and jobs, while undertaking a review of public spending to make it more efficient.

In fact, he has said that he expects the Budgets for 2022 to be “expansive” as well, like those of this year, although he recalled that for now the European Commission has not announced any commitment regarding a possible new suspension of the tax rules that year.

In this way, it has postponed the rebalancing plan whose design institutions such as AIReF or the Bank of Spain have been demanding when “economic circumstances so advise and when Brussels proposes it”, in order to continue on the path of fiscal consolidation. “There will be time,” he said.

The Government spokeswoman has also referred to the reform of the autonomous financing system, which will be a “priority” of the Government for 2021 and whose work could begin as of February, in order to address “under-financing” of some regions, but has warned that the Executive will guarantee a certain fiscal “harmonization” to guarantee sufficient resources per inhabitants that allow a good provision of public services.

Financing

Thus, he has ensured that the system will be “fair” with all territories, although he has added that “never” a financing system can fully respond to the requirement of a specific territory, because it would be to the detriment of another, for what we must find a “common denominator” so that “everyone” receives adequate resources and “not to turn the debate on autonomous financing into one of territorial grievances”.

At that point, he has denounced the “interested campaigns of questioning” of certain tax figures, such as Successions and Donations or Patrimony to deteriorate them in social perception “casually” when these figures are linked to wealth and “curiously” when it affects a smaller volume of citizens, using “falsehoods” such as being paid twice for the same taxable event.

In his opinion, Spain and society need a “reflection” on the most appropriate tax figures to tax wealth, for which he has advocated “legitimizing that which allows us to be more equal” and for preserving tax justice .

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