Companies did not like the measures approved this Wednesday by the Government too much. The banking associations, the electricity company and the Catalan company Foment rejected the extension of taxes on financial entities and energy companies that will end up being permanent when in reality they were born as extraordinary in a situation of rising profits. The CEOE did not comment.
The AEB, which groups the banks, and the CECA, the former savings banks, pointed out that "the Executive's decision does not address the obligation to review the temporary tax contained in the law that created it after two years." In the opinion of the employers, factors such as “the situation of the sector at this time and the cumulative effect of said tax together with the Corporate Tax” should be taken into account. They also remember that they have not waited until “the courts have yet ruled on the appeals presented.” According to banking associations, the “tax has negative effects on the generation of new credit, job creation, economic growth and financial stability.”
The Aelec employers' association, which brings together some of the large electricity companies, also criticized the extension of the tax on the sector. However, some energy companies believe that the possibility of deducting certain investments in decarbonization from the tax can reduce the bill to pay. Obviously they are against the tax but in the extension an option has been opened to reduce the impact on the income statement. Something that does not occur in the bank tax, which remains the same without reading the articles of the decree in the BOE.
In reference to the deductions that will be designed, Aelec pointed out that “it is difficult to decarbonize if electricity becomes more expensive.” In the same statement, the electricity companies assured that "recovering the tax on the sale of electrical energy production is bad news for companies and citizens, since it is unique in the European Union and reduces our competitiveness."
From Barcelona, the Foment employers' association stated that “it is unacceptable that in a context of normalization like the current one, they want to convert extraordinary taxes into permanent ones.” In the opinion of the business organization, the “increase in taxation causes negative effects for the entire Spanish society.”
Pimec considered the withdrawal of tax cuts on energy hasty taking into account the current level of the CPI and the impact of energy costs on the evolution of inflation. In his opinion, it would be more appropriate to extend the tax rates currently in force during the first quarter of 2024 and increase taxation progressively as interest rates decrease.
Although companies were the ones that complained the most about the Government's tax strategy, the unions criticized the action of the Ministry of Finance with a harshness not seen in a long time. In a statement, CC.OO. He said that the Treasury “despises more than five million public employees” for the “non-compliance with salary increases” that do not appear in the royal decree such as the variable increase of 0.5% in 2023.
On the other hand, the self-employed included in UTAE considered the expansion of some of the protection measures “positive.” They did demand, however, proposals for the vulnerable self-employed.
According to estimates by the union of technicians of the Ministry of Finance (Gestha), the reduction in taxes on gas and electricity has subtracted 14,116 million euros from tax collection between 2021 and 2023, a figure that will continue to increase during its gradual withdrawal throughout 2024.
