Negotiations within the coalition Government to approve the State’s General Budgets are always exhausted until the last minute. That’s how it was in the last two Octobers and this time is no different. Despite reaching a fiscal pact last week, the PSOE i United We Can they are not being able to reach an agreement on the public accounts for 2023, despite the fact that the Government’s intention is to be able to approve it this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers. The second vice-president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz” class=”link copy”>Yolanda Diazhas ruled that “at these hours there is no agreement» and has recognized that the differences with the socialists are «profound». «I will negotiate without getting up from the table until the last minute for the sake of my country, I hope that the PSOE will do the same“, has said.
Socialists and purples have been immersed in an intense negotiation until the end of the day. However, this has not been enough. On the table, the leaders of Unides Podemos had put their demands to endow the family law with a budget that would allow the launch of a universal baby check of 100 euros monthly or extend them maternity leave for six months. Sources close to the purple leadership point out that this would be one of the main stumbling blocks, since the socialists intend to lower many of these proposals. On the other hand, the socialists have demanded that they undertake to reactivate the processing of the housing law. The two issues were already present in the negotiations of the previous Budgets.
Another of the demands promoted by the second vice-president herself before the socialists was reverse the PP cuts in unemployment, so that benefits for the unemployed are increased. He also demanded to introduce in the accounts for 2023 an increase ofIPREM (Public Indicator of Income of Multiple Effects), which would affect the calculation of the minimum living income, non-contributory pensions and different autonomous incomes.
Taxation
At the moment, the PSOE and Unides Podemos have only been able to negotiate a tax package which, even so, is insufficient for the purples. Specifically, it includes bonuses in the personal income tax for income below 21,000 euros, as well as discounts for the self-employed and SMEs, while the taxation of capital income above 200,000 euros is increased. In addition, they will promote a law to implement a new tax for assets of more than three million euros. The Executive calculates that, together, these measures will achieve a greater collection of 3,144 million euros in two years (2023 and 2024).
On the other hand, the reduction of VAT to 4% on feminine hygiene products, condoms and non-medicinal contraceptives will be included in the project. Both Unides Podemos and the main parliamentary partners tried to introduce this measure in the past public accounts, but they were rejected by the PSOE.
The basics
The State Budget project for 2023 is being built on the basis of a new macroeconomic framework that lowers the GDP growth forecast for next year from 2.7% to 2.1%, according to the economic vice-president, Nadia Calviño, made the announcement this Monday.
In addition, the accounts for 2023 are being framed within the expenditure ceiling approved by the Government and which was submitted to the consideration of the Congress of Deputies on September 22. The Government has set the spending ceiling at 198,221 million euros, 1.1% more than in 2022. Without including the European ‘Next Generation’ fund resources, the spending ceiling amounts to 173,065 million, the 1, 9% more than in 2022. Within this spending ceiling is included the agreement for the salary increase of civil servants reached this Monday between the Government and UGT and CCOO, which includes an increase in remuneration for 2023 of 2.5% fixed plus another variable point (up to 3.5%) depending on the evolution of prices and GDP.
In the Budget figures, there will also be a transfer of 19,888 million for Social Security, which means an increase of 8.1% compared to this year. Above this spending ceiling will be the increase in pensions in 2023 in accordance with the average inflation between November 2021 and 2022, a figure that could be around 8%. The amount of measures against the energy crisis that the Government decides to extend or apply in 2023 is also above the spending ceiling, as could the extension of the reduction in VAT on electricity and gas beyond of December 2022, although any of these decisions will be adopted later, as the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has been repeating.