The episode that ended today in Congress with a new example of the enormous parliamentary weakness of the Government, began to be woven with its absurd position of promising a party, Podemos, the extension, at least for a year and then seeking an agreement to make it permanent, of the temporary tax that energy companies bear. The punishment was justified because, apparently, they make a lot of money. Of course, no one outside the sector took the trouble to explain how much is a lot and how much is reasonable when it comes to business results. Nor did anyone compare the results with the assets involved to obtain them; Nor did he remember that the invoiced income is one thing and the resulting benefits are quite another. Nor did anyone think about what happens when extraordinary results become negative or significantly diminish, as usually happens to those who store fuel. Why so much nuance, why so much digression? The Government’s partners were sure that they deserved a tax and… they got it. But, lo and behold, not all parties liked the solution because, in their opinion, it endangered investments that generated jobs and wealth and that could be established in other places, as some of the affected companies threatened. So the Government came up with a brilliant solution. To those who wanted the tax he promised to extend its validity over time and to those who wanted to eliminate it, he promised its immediate elimination. Such a brilliant idea ended yesterday as could be expected. The PNV and Junts (known in the environment as the ‘Repsol puppies’) joined forces with the PP and Vox – that is versatility and ability to adapt –, and the tax declined and made the government’s desire to extend it in the next Council of Ministers impossible. A decree law cannot create a tax and since it was not extended, it did not exist and therefore had to be created. A mess, right? Well yes, a mess linked to a nonsense, hanging on an aberration and supported by nonsense. Come on, the ideal scenario to plan investments that, like energy investments, are large, have long maturation periods and much longer recovery periods. still… We are in the hands of geniuses.
#Ignacio #MarcoGardoqui #hands #geniuses
