We need your help to continue reporting
Collaborate with Newtribuna
One of the debates that was expected with greatest interest at the 41st Congress of the PSOE is the financing system and the relationship in the economic field between the central administration and the peripheral administrations. The conclusions of the commission that has debated the issue have been reached, if they can be carried forward, they will mean a substantial change in the financial powers of the autonomous communities. The text presented by the presentation is the following.
“Spain is a complex reality that can only be built from dialogue, from the acceptance of diversity, from the sum of identities. A diverse Spain, where the plurality of languages, cultures and identities coexist and turn out to be its greatest strength. We believe in a polyphonic Spain, in which all the voices that coexist in its territories are heard, not only in terms of cultural or linguistic identity, but also in political and social participation.
To achieve this, it is necessary to advance in the mechanisms of collaboration and participation, so that the voice of the State and its central institutions can be built from all the contributions of those who make it up, both from the territories and from the citizens and groups. social. All territories contribute to enriching the common project of Spain. *Plurality is a wealth, not a weakness; It is in the sum of these voices where true strength is found.
No territory of our country can be conceived without its internal cultural and linguistic diversity. Spain as a whole contains a great linguistic wealth, a great diversity that must be enhanced and preserved, from education, culture and politics. Languages serve to unite and dialogue, not to separate. Be that as it may, Spain still has a lot to do to become that territorially fair and cohesive country that all socialists dream of.
Three major challenges stand out between now and 2030
The first and most urgent is to achieve a regional financing system that is more fair and sustainable. Each reform has increased the resources available to all the autonomous communities, has deepened their self-government, has improved fiscal co-responsibility and has guaranteed solidarity. However, this model continues to present deficiencies in terms of resource sufficiency, equity and efficiency that must be corrected, in addition to being excessively complex. We need a system that ensures sufficient resources so that all communities can cover their responsibilities and do so equitably, since unjustified inequalities currently persist in financing per inhabitant adjusted to finance the same public services. The objective is to ensure that citizens residing in different autonomous communities have access to the same level of public services.
Federalism is the solution for stable coexistence. The federalization of the State that we demand, more than a change of model, means taking another step in the improvement and improvement of the Autonomous State
Furthermore, the current system has a strong decentralization of spending, but limited co-responsibility in income, which discourages responsible tax management and *allows some regional governments to play fiscal populism, practicing dumping and lowering taxes on their economic elites. , while they request more funds from the central government. The new model must advance in fiscal co-responsibility and, in no case, should it cover the lower revenue of the autonomous communities derived from the tax cuts they adopt.
Finally, the current system does not adequately resolve the problem of territorial singularities, and prevents us from raising the necessary resources to face the new demographic realities, the problems linked to the rural world and the complex challenges related to the demographic challenge and the territory, as well as the climatic ones, among them, those associated with new generation fires and catastrophic damages, such as what happened recently in Valencia and other autonomous communities. Situations that require higher levels of investment in basic services and infrastructure.
The second challenge we face is to deepen the economic and social cohesion of the territory. Trade openness and the integration of the European Single Market have allowed regions and capital cities to exploit their competitive advantages, while less industrialized and populated territories have begun to fall behind. This dynamic – which occurs throughout Europe – has generated the paradox that, while the Member States have followed a process of convergence, internally the differences between Autonomous Communities have increased. If we want to be a truly cohesive country that brings out the best in itself and treats all its citizens equally, we will have to be able to correct this trend and achieve a better territorial balance.
To achieve this, we will have to delve into the process of federalization of the State.
Spain is a success story in its decentralization process. In a very short time, we have gone from being a strongly centralized State to being considered an almost federal country*. However, federal tools for cooperation, coordination, harmonization and territorial participation in state issues that improve the functioning of our territorial model, co-governance and the provision of services to citizens remain to be developed.
It is necessary to improve the clarity of the distribution of powers, the role of the Senate as a chamber of territorial representation, or institutionalize relations between autonomous communities. It is not reasonable, for example, that seriously ill patients have to travel hundreds of kilometers to receive treatment, when they can do so closer in the neighboring autonomous community.
Federalism is the solution for stable coexistence. The federalization of the State that we demand, more than a change of model, means, from the pact and consensus, taking another step in the perfection and improvement of the Autonomous State, guaranteeing the solidarity and equality of citizens regardless of their place. of residence. To federate is not to separate, to federate is to unite, creating a space of coexistence where the unity of the State is guaranteed at the same time with respect for the diversity of the peoples that make it up, the self-government of the Autonomous Communities and the political integration of the State. It is therefore a system that allows us to recognize, respect and integrate the diversity and singularities of the territories of Spain, improves social cohesion and pursues equality, deepens the democratic essence, in addition to offering more appropriate responses to the problems of our communities. in an integrative and efficient State. *Federalism assumes the importance of feelings and identities that are diverse and compatible and do not have to be exclusive, in line with the Granada Declaration.*
The reform of the Autonomous and Local Financing systems must take into account the needs and positions of the affected administrations.
Thus, we will promote a reform of the regional financing system that:
1) increase the available resources of all the Autonomous Communities and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla so that they all have more resources than at present and ensure sufficiency and equity in the provision of public services, especially in health , education and social protection.
2) review the composition and harmonization of the tax basket to avoid downward competition in taxes such as Wealth, Inheritance and Donations or the highest income tax brackets, guaranteeing the fiscal autonomy of the autonomous communities.
3) optimize the calculation of payments on account and personal income tax withholdings so that the impact of the decisions of the CCAA is more immediate.
4) modify the adjusted population formula to improve the calculation of needs and regulatory fiscal capacity to homogeneous powers.
5) negotiate relief with homogeneous and equitable criteria for the public debt of the Autonomous Communities generated during the financial crisis;
6) federalize the management of the AEAT to give more decision-making capacity to the Autonomous Communities and deploy a network strategy with the regional treasuries, promoting coordination with the Autonomous Communities.
The reform of the Autonomous Financing System must guarantee greater resources for all the Autonomous Communities, strengthening public services and recognizing the singularities and the different determining variables in their cost, in a way that guarantees equal rights in access to public services independently. of the territory in which you live.
This model will be approved multilaterally within the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, without prejudice to the bilateral relationship of the state with each autonomous community based on what is included in the different statutes.
This system must move towards a federal financing model
The new model will guarantee the financing needs of the Autonomous Communities, also taking into account the characteristics of the island territories, to ensure the equality of Spaniards with homogeneous levels of public services in all communities and thus avoid territorial imbalances, while at the same time it must make fully effective the principle of institutional loyalty and legal certainty. Likewise, fiscal and social policies will be promoted to combat depopulation and the demographic challenge, also addressing those territories that have overpopulation.
Promotion of a less centralist and more supportive model, which helps more the less developed territories and with more complex terrain.
We socialists believe in a country in which opportunities, including the assumption of headquarters of state organizations, are distributed throughout the territory and wealth is generated in a decentralized, collaborative and transversal way, taking advantage of the competitive advantages of each autonomous community. and overcoming a radial model, so as to promote a fairer territorial balance, strengthen the economic and social fabric and contribute to greater cohesion and stability.
For this reason, we will continue to use European funds to generate industry and revitalize the productive fabric in all territories beyond the capital, also promoting actions to address the demographic challenge; We will double the amount of the Interterritorial Compensation Fund and turn it into a true Autonomous Development Fund, as ambitious as the PERTE, which compensates for the loss of European structural funds for the less developed areas of Spanish territory, based on the design of development plans. and adopt the “place-based policies” perspective recommended by leading studies.
The vote on the proposal has been approved unanimously and the PSC delegation has expressed its satisfaction with what was agreed, so that it will be able to develop the agreement reached on financing with ERC that made Salvador Illa’s investiture possible.
#PSOE #approves #moving #fairer #financing #system #based #federal #model #State
