The commons demand that the Government implement the agreed tax on cruise ships in the face of the reluctance of the Port

The words of the president of the Port of Barcelona, ​​Lluís Salvadó (ERC), criticizing the tax on large cruise ships that the Government of Pere Aragonès plans to implement soon, as a result of the budget agreement with En Comú Podem, have stirred up the common people.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
16 February 2023 Thursday 05:25
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The commons demand that the Government implement the agreed tax on cruise ships in the face of the reluctance of the Port

The words of the president of the Port of Barcelona, ​​Lluís Salvadó (ERC), criticizing the tax on large cruise ships that the Government of Pere Aragonès plans to implement soon, as a result of the budget agreement with En Comú Podem, have stirred up the common people. The president of the parliamentary group, Jéssica Albiach, sees in this criticism a sign that the Catalan Executive would be wavering in its willingness to implement the rate, for this reason she recalled that "the agreements are to be fulfilled" and that "ERC must clarify What is your position.

Salvadó questioned last Tuesday, during the presentation of the results of the Port last year, the suitability of implementing the tax that taxes polluting emissions from large vessels because it can cause the "relocation" of stopovers by cruise ships, that in this way they would choose to dock in other ports where they are not obliged to pay the tax.

“It is surely the first tax of an environmental nature that can generate relocations, and therefore we need an evaluation of the economic impact. In other environmental taxes there are no substantial issues, large stores are not relocated, vehicles are not relocated, but the stairs of the boats are”, warned the president of the Port.

Albiach recalled that Salvadó is from ERC and has been elected president of the port entity by the same formation, and that he has spoken out against one of the points of the budget agreement between the Government and the commons. "It seems that Salvadó has now realized that what is sought is to reduce the number of cruise ships. Congratulations. Obviously, what this tax seeks is for whoever pollutes the most to pay and also to reduce the number of cruise ships that arrive in Barcelona."

The leader recalled that in 2019 more than 3 million cruise passengers arrived in Barcelona in the Catalan capital, with a very limited economic impact due to the short time they spent in the city, and she insisted that what is intended is "regulate, control, set limits, just as is being done in other European cities".

Albiach's demand for explanations is also justified by the willingness of the Port of Barcelona to present allegations to the Government regarding the imminent implementation of this tax, as confirmed by Salvadó himself last Tuesday. And it is that "it is obvious and normal that there are some elements that Economia i Hisenda does not have, but the Port of Barcelona does, about what happens in certain segments of port activity if the tax is applied", he justified. Also the port of Tarragona , another of the important destinations for cruise ships in Catalonia, will present allegations.

The Government plans to collect 9.72 million with this tax in the first year of implementation that would increase to 34 million in 2026, according to the economic report presented by the Catalan Executive. In addition, it would be the first time that a tax is applied in Spain to large ships due to the pollution they generate in ports (in their berthing and anchoring maneuvers), since the state law on Climate Change (2021) avoided implementing this environmental tax measures.