The Government boasts of having moderated inflation and that, at the moment, it is one of the lowest in European countries, 3.2% in May and falling. However, food prices, even though they have peaked and have also started a slowdown, remain at very high levels.
12% in May is a skyrocketing increase, no matter how much it represents the third consecutive month of moderation. And precisely, it is these prices that force the Government to prolong in the Council of Ministers this Tuesday both the reduction in VAT on basic foods and the reduction in transport.
"The VAT reduction on basic foods and support for public transport are two measures that we are going to maintain," said the First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño. Food prices "remain above what is reasonable," Calviño told RNE, who recognized the balances that have to be made between what both Brussels and the Bank of Spain recommend, that is, ending general aid , and the effectiveness in controlling inflation. In this sense, Calviño recalls how in January the 20 cents general discount per liter of gasoline was abolished, leaving it reserved only for professionals in the sector, to whom in April it was halved, 10 cents; and also as it was in January when the VAT reduction on basic foods came into force. Something that will continue, with measures that will try to "adapt as automatically as possible to how the economy responds."
On the other hand, Calviño rules out extending the VAT reduction to meat and fish, a recurring request from the PP, which the vice president does not consider necessary and also adds that, in recent weeks, "one of the prices that has fallen has been the one with the fish”.
In this way, although the vice president did not go into specifying, from her words it can be deduced that the elimination of VAT will be maintained for basic necessities, such as bread, bread-making flour, milk, cheese, eggs, fruits, vegetables, vegetables, legumes, potatoes and cereals; and the VAT reduction from 10 to 5% for oils and pasta.
On the other hand, the discount on public transport will also continue, although Calviño did not give details here either. Currently, it means both free commuter, Rodalies and medium-distance Renfe passes, as well as financing of 30% of the urban and interurban public transport discount to regional and municipal governments, which have the option of supplementing it up to 50%.
It was in May when the European Commission, in its recommendations by country, indicated that the era of the open bar was coming to an end, and that from 2024 the progressive return to normality began. Brussels called for more attention to public spending and a progressive withdrawal of the measures adopted as a result of the energy crisis. In addition, Brussels adds that, in the event of having to maintain aid, "they are focused on vulnerable families and companies, that they are fiscally affordable and that incentives for energy saving are preserved."
Calviño has expressed his agreement with this philosophy of more surgical interventions, but it remains to be seen how it translates into the Council of Ministers this Tuesday. It will take the form of a royal decree law that must be subsequently validated by the permanent deputation of Congress.
On the other hand, Calviño rejected the proposal of the second vice president and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, to establish an extraordinary bonus of 1,000 euros to help vulnerable families pay their mortgages in the face of the sharp rise in interest rates. She says that "it cannot be a solution to use public money" to give it to the banks, but that it is the financial entities that must facilitate the relief measures. Calviño meets this Thursday with the banking employers to evaluate the codes of good practice.
