The Minister of Finance for Spain, María Jesús Montero, has given some initial details of a new tax on the very rich which will come into force on January 1st 2023. It will affect around 1% of the population and will be a temporary measure, such as those on the energy companies and banks.
At this moment in time she did not say what the rate of tax will be, or the wealth level above which someone will have to pay it, as the government is still studying that.
The current executive thinks differently to opposition parties who are in favour of cutting taxes rather than increasing them or introducing new ones, and Montero criticized the regional government in Murcia, which has just announced that it too will be reducing the rate of personal income tax, like Madrid and Andalucía have done, and is considering joining them in abolishing wealth tax. She said this is irresponsible and would have disastrous consequences on the welfare system.
“We are managing this crisis differently,” she said. “It is necessary to ask for more from those with the most wealth, the highest income, and windfall profits”.
Podemos leader, Pablo Echenique, said he was glad that the PSOE was now partly introducing something his party has been demanding for a long time.
“It’s always the same with our proposals; first they are said to be outrageous, then impossible, then the EU wouldn’t allow it, then they start to sound a bit better, then they’re introduced but only temporarily, and then they end up being permanent,” he said, “and they know we are going to keep insisting on a wealth tax which will not only be fair but also permanent.
