Hacienda attends to the PP and postpones until September 4 the Council that will vote on the new regional financing

The Ministry of Finance has accepted the request of the communities governed by the PP and has postponed the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council until Friday, September 4. The meeting was scheduled for this Wednesday and was to address and put to a vote the new autonomous community financing model.

The department led by Arcadi España has decided to offer more time to study a reform called to determine over the next few years the resources allocated to health, education, dependency, and the rest of the public services managed by the communities. The eleven regional governments of the PP, along with Ceuta and Melilla, had demanded to have the complete documentation and simulations before making a statement.

The popular councilors also questioned that the meeting was held amidst the emergency caused by the fires. In their letter, they assured that a reform of this importance needed multilateral negotiation and a broader calendar, after criticizing that the proposal originated from the agreement reached between the Government and ERC.

Hacienda maintains that it has been offering technical meetings to the communities for months and has expressed its surprise at the moment chosen to request the postponement, just after Canarias announced its favorable vote. Despite this, Arcadi España has presented the change of date as a sign of the Government's willingness to dialogue.

Almost 21,000 million more for the communities

Hacienda's proposal contemplates that the autonomous communities receive an additional 20,975 million euros. The objective is to increase the resources available to finance the welfare state through a greater transfer of taxes such as personal income tax (IRPF) and VAT, in addition to new redistribution mechanisms between territories.

The model also incorporates funds linked to territorial singularities, the competencies assumed by each community, and exposure to the effects of climate change. Each autonomous community will be able to decide whether to join the new system and whether to participate in some of its mechanisms, one of the changes introduced to facilitate the agreement.

Canarias announced its support this Monday after closing with Hacienda the recognition of its particularities. The Government of Fernando Clavijo estimates that the new distribution will provide it with 1,300 million more each year for its essential services. Catalonia, which participated in the initial negotiation with ERC, will also vote in favor.

The Government has the necessary votes in the Council

The position of Catalonia and the Canary Islands allows the Executive to face the September vote with peace of mind. The Government holds half of the weight of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council and needs to add the support of only one community to pass its proposal.

The postponement now offers several weeks to continue conversations and deliver the information requested by the regional governments. The rejection remains majority among the PP communities and also extends to Castilla-La Mancha, whose socialist president, Emiliano García-Page, considers that the distribution harms equality between territories.

The CPFF vote represents an important political step, although the reform will then have to translate into legal changes and new tax transfers approved by Congress. There, the Government faces a much tighter scenario.

The PP and the far-right Vox have announced their rejection. Junts also threatens to present an amendment to the whole because the model finally discards for Catalonia a concert similar to the Basque one. ERC maintains its support, but has criticized the postponement and demands that the new funding be approved before the end of the year.