The Minister of Economy, Natàlia Mas (1979, Sant Martí de Tous), has been a key player in the negotiations of the pact between ERC and the PSOE. The cancellation of the debt with the State for 15,000 million euros, the change in the control of the central government's investments in Catalonia and the start of a new financing model are the main axes of it.
What will this new system be like?
We have laid the first stone for the definition of a unique financing model for Catalonia.
What will your proposal be?
That Catalonia can collect all taxes and contribute a certain amount of solidarity to the State. Catalonia is a territory of solidarity and open to the world and will continue to be so, but a well-understood solidarity. We are looking at what are acceptable, reasonable, generous ranges of solidarity at a global level, and here we are referring from the German system to California, Massachusetts, Alberta, Ontario or Flanders, where they are between 2% and 4% of GDP. Catalonia right now has a fiscal deficit of almost 10% of GDP, which could be understood as a solidarity quota.
It seems like Artur Mas's fiscal pact...
We will see what final name such a solution can have. But what is clear is that we are laying this first stone for a unique financing model, through a bilateral negotiation channel in the field of financing that until now had not existed.
What will you do with the interest savings from debt forgiveness?
It gives us a certain amount of oxygen that we will use very carefully but to promote new projects that we are already working on. Therefore, it will have a positive and immediate impact for Catalonia and there are other elements of the economic agreement that may have been less known but that are also very relevant.
Which is it?
We secure the resources to deploy the entire Mossos d'Esquadra force. There are 1,654 million. We also improve the financing of scholarships, of the judicial bodies that have to be deployed, and we also recognize the unique competence that Catalonia has in research and development with an annual fund of 150 million, which I believe has to represent a turning point. then for the research ecosystem in Catalonia.
And about the deficit of State investments?
We agreed on a mechanism by which the State will budget the weight of Catalonia's GDP in investments and a good part of the execution of these investments will be done by the Generalitat.
What if it doesn't run?
There will be a commission that will define and prioritize these investments. We will ensure that 19% of the State's total is budgeted for Catalonia and we will see what percentage can be called critical, which the State will execute. For the rest we will obtain a transfer and it will be executed from the Generalitat. It is a very important mechanism to modify all the dynamics that have existed until now.
And about debt forgiveness, what would you think if you were still at the ECB, where you worked for 10 years?
We understand this debt forgiveness as a direct result of the underfinancing that Catalonia has suffered. Therefore we agreed on measures to correct that. A correction that we know from minute zero can also be applied to other territories. Which is nothing minor. We will go from 32% GDP debt to approximately 26%.
And do you want the Generalitat to go abroad to finance itself?
We have been preparing this exit to the markets for some time, which seemed difficult due to the situation, due to the authorization we need from the State.
Will there be budgets for 2024?
We work to arrive on time and have them approved as quickly as possible. We come from political moments in which some groups also asked us to wait until after the investiture. We have done all the internal work, the technical work. We have started conversations. A few days ago we approved a spending ceiling that places the growth of investment spending at 5.5%.
But will they come into force on January 1?
Technically we can get there, it will depend on the rhythms of political negotiation.
Will the accounts be expansive taking into account European tax rules?
The growth in investment spending for the year is more limited than the previous year but is still expansive. We have defended above all that the green investment part can be preserved, as well as the investment in childhood. These are the approaches that we have sent to Europe and the State. We assumed a fairly significant reduction in the deficit, we came out with a 0.1% deficit.
Will taxes on low incomes be lowered?
We will not enter into a race to lower taxes, because we know where that leads. It leads to a weakening of public services and leads to harm to the working classes. It is true that, based on this investiture agreement and the gains obtained in the context of the Catalan economy, which is resisting and advancing, we will be able to propose some fiscal measures. We will explain them soon to alleviate, to the extent possible, the pressures on the cost of living for families.
Are you concerned about the tax race to the bottom in nearby communities?
With respect to inheritances, I think it is a properly proportionate tax. I consider it reasonable that it contributes to the reinforcement of public services, even more so when, and this is objective evidence, the vast majority of the evolution of inequalities is explained by inherited wealth. There are studies that indicate that between 70 and 80% of inequalities have this explanation.
But can there be relocations?
We do not detect any risks or dynamics of relocation. And I reiterate, I believe that we need to work to have a reasonable, proportional fiscal framework, in no case confiscatory, that allows adequate financing of public services and to make this investment drive for the benefit of everyone.
Foment and the Junts-PSOE pact are committed to facilitating the return of corporate headquarters.
Catalonia is in a dynamic of attracting investments and expanding the productive capacity of many companies in the territory. The year 2022 closed with 6.4 billion euros of foreign investment. We are at historic highs. There is no reason why a certain company can have reservations to invest in Catalonia.
Will there be an agreement on the airport?
A proposal will be submitted before the end of the year. Intercontinental connectivity is very important for the Catalan economy. What Aena's proposal proposed was more tourism, and this is not the way. We have to make the entire group of airports in Catalonia play, so that El Prat becomes an intercontinental airport and with this objective we are working, so that there is this proposal before the end of the year.
Do you fear that the fraud detected in the ICF will grow?
No, they are isolated cases. The ICF has a track record of success, and solvency levels even above the private financial sector.
What is your relationship with the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero?
We have sent you, as appropriate, complaints and evidence on issues that must be resolved. One of them is this non-publication of investment data.
