The tax on large fortunes may end up in the Constitutional Court. For the PP, this new figure supposes a double taxation, since the same concept would be taxed twice, the wealth obtained, once through the Wealth Tax, and another the tax on large fortunes. And it also goes against the fiscal autonomy of the autonomous communities, which have ceded the wealth tax.
The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, warned yesterday about the "illegality risks" of this new tax, and although he did not confirm that the PP will take it to the Constitutional Court, everything indicates that it will do so as soon as the bill where it will be included This new tax, as required by United We Can, is in force.
In addition, the PP exploded yesterday against the way in which the Government intends to process this tax, through an amendment to the bill presented by PSOE and United We Can that temporarily establish a tax on energy companies and banks, to alleviate the impact of the energy and price crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.
This proposal was admitted for processing by Congress in October, without its text containing anything referring to large fortunes, but now the Government intends to propose, through the parliamentary groups, an amendment to include the tax on the great fortunes that the Ministry of Finance was studying to include in a new law.
The opposition, and specifically the PP, have shouted to the heavens. They had already protested because the taxes on electricity companies and banks are being processed as a bill and not as a bill, which implies that they have not specified the mandatory reports required by law, such as the one from the Council of state and that of the Independent Tax Authority.
Now, with this technique of including the Tax on large fortunes in the bill for taxes on electricity companies and banks, this tax, about which the PP has many doubts about its legality, also avoids the reports of the organs independent. In addition, by introducing the tax through an amendment, the possibility of debate and amending the new figure is practically zero.
Núñez Feijóo criticized these practices from Quito: "We are making the guarantees of the law as flexible as possible," denounced the president of the PP, who considers that introducing a tax through an amendment to a bill "produces legal uncertainty." In the opinion of the popular leader, the Government is aware of this and sees the Executive as "nervous and weak", and that is why it resorts to these tricks, since it transfers that nervousness "to the legal framework".
The proposal chosen by the Government to include the Tax on large fortunes, levies 4.8% on income from interest and bank commissions and 1.2% on income from energy companies, in addition to prohibiting banks transfer that tax to the customer. The measure affects financial entities that enter more than 800 million a year and energy entities that invoice more than 1,000 million. In addition, and under the supervision of the CNMC, a fine of 150% of the amount is established for those companies that transfer this tax to the final price of the user.
This tax has been called into question by the European Central Bank for being applicable to income and not to extraordinary profits, in addition to considering that as it is proposed, it will end up being passed on to citizens by banking entities.
The Tax on large fortunes that the Government plans to introduce will mainly affect the investment that high net worth individuals in Spain have deposited in fund managers and Sicavs and in business shares. The tax will also be focused, although to a lesser extent, on urban real estate and bank deposits. The new tax will apply to assets from three million euros.
