The congress of Junts per Catalunya this weekend, in which the political direction of the formation has been redefined, included in the sectoral presentation one more reason for friction with its partners in the Government, Esquerra Republicana. In that document, it is committed to abolishing the inheritance and donation tax and advocates analyzing the feasibility of doing the same with the wealth tax. In addition, it is requested to lower the maximum income tax bracket, from 50% to 45% and raise the minimum exempt from paying taxes.
The spokesperson and deputy general secretary of the ERC, Marta Vilalta, on this issue, has used the Govern Plan approved by the Executive of Pere Aragonès last year. That document is committed to "consolidating the latest legislative changes in personal income tax and inheritance and gift tax" and for there to be a reduction in the tax burden for "taxpayers with less economic capacity", and "reducing economic and social inequalities by increasing the level of redistribution of the Catalan tax system". "We refer to the Govern Plan", highlighted Vilalta.
These changes were agreed between the Catalan Executive and En Comú Podem when Aragonès was Vice President and Minister of Economy and Hisenda in December 2019, in order to approve the budgets of the Generalitat for 2020. "We will agree on whatever it is to redistribute. Whatever it is so that those who have more have more, no", has sentenced the spokeswoman for the Republicans.
"We will see how Junts translates the tax. They are clearly defined as what they have always been, the sovereignist right and the independentist right. It is good that they uncomplex on an ideological level," Vilalta celebrated, stressing that "perhaps there is discomfort" in their partners with what the Government agreed.
In addition, during his speech he pointed out that "if someone is uncomfortable in the Government, make timely decisions" and stressed that they will maintain the Government's roadmap whether or not they are their partners. With everything he has normalized the discrepancies within the coalition of the Generalitat.
Vilalta has also had reproaches for his partners, who in the parliaments of the congress and in the road map throw several darts at the Republicans, for their disdain before the dialogue table between governments that will be reactivated next week. "We regret that on the other side there is no proposal and that there are those who are more dedicated to underestimating and attacking the space for negotiation than to making proposals," said the spokeswoman.
"Proposals, alternatives and consensus are necessary", added Vilalta, who has also put on the table in this matter the Plan of the Government, "signed by all its members", which in the first point includes a commitment to negotiation. He has also made his partners ugly by the lack of specificity in his proposals in this area. "We do not believe that we have to wait for them to come to an agreement among themselves [among the leaders of Junts] or that they are kind enough to come to negotiate," the ERC leader concluded.
On the judicial case of Laura Borràs, Vilalta has pointed out that they have not changed their position after the indictment of the Public Prosecutor's Office for the alleged splitting of contracts to favor a friend when the now president of the Parlament and Junts headed the Institution of Catalan letters.
"The crime of prevarication is considered a crime of corruption, it is not ERC who decides what is corruption or not. What ERC does decide is how to act in the face of crimes: being clear, harsh and exhaustive. We cannot allow shadows of doubt. When there are cases of alleged corruption, whatever the typology, we must be very clear and not spoil the movement, the pro-independence project and much less the institutions of our country," Vilalta stressed. "We should be very exemplary," she added.
