CATALONIA is on course for another run-in with the Spanish government after the Catalan Vice-President and Finance Minister, Pere Aragones, said he was considering a lawsuit over its withholding of €1.3 million (£1.1m) in regional funds.
He accused the Madrid executive of “illegally” retaining the cash which should have been transferred to the Catalan government during this year.
Aragones told MPs yesterday: “We will bring the Spanish government to the courts to pay for the 2019 advances that are ours, which correspond by law to the people of Catalonia and that they are retaining irregularly.
“We’re not asking for charity, it’s the money that we should be receiving according to the law.”
He went on to urge other autonomous authorities throughout Spain to join the legal action as the shortfall affected “all Spanish citizens”.
In addition, he said the government of Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez had still to pay Catalonia a settlement figure for VAT, which would far exceed the budget for its department of the interior.
“If we were to collect IRPF [personal income tax] and VAT, since this income … has already been paid by the citizens of Catalonia, we would not have this problem.
“Therefore, the problem is not spending, the problem is who raises: the state collects, retains incomes, not only in the Generalitat [government] de Catalunya.”
His remarks came as he announced a 6% cut in Catalan government spending, which he stressed would not affect basic services, such as education and primary health care.
Aragones said “The government will not make cuts, but will set priorities for budgetary management until the end of the year.”
Opposition parties criticised Aragones for blaming Madrid, with David Cid, from Podem, suggesting he cared more about elections than the budget.
“We are critical that the vice president did not specify the real scope and the economic volume of the cuts,” he said.
“It gives me the impression that you care more about counting seats than millions of euros.”
Maria Sirvent, from the CUP, said the cuts showed “we have a subordinate government” in Spain, and urged Aragones to disobey if he thought the deficit objective was unfair and imposed.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here