This week the ‘La Caixa’ Foundation and its industrial arm, criteria, announced the return of their registered office to Catalonia after fleeing the community more than seven years after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence. At that time, and despite the story … That did the independence then, and that it still maintains – as we have been able to verify these days – that the PP government had almost forced the companies to get out of there, what really happened is that the Catalan companies asked the then Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, to change the norm to be able to expedite the transfers and that the approval of the Board of Shareholders was not necessary. The legal insecurity generated caused most of the great Catalan firms to leave the region in search of security and stability.
The return to Catalonia of Sabadell and now of La Caixa is, without a doubt, good news, and it is possible that there are more companies that return, especially those of the Caixa field, such as Naturgy and Colonial, and even Caixabank, although in the latter case I have my doubts. The Government wants to capitalize on this return ensuring that it is a success of Illa and Sánchez himself, which thanks to his assignments has managed to normalize the situation in Catalonia. I honestly do not be so clear that these assignments are the cause of the return to Catalonia of the companies that have already done so. It is clear that in the case of La Caixa, the return responds to that increasingly close relationship between the socialist, national and regional government, and the entity, which has led them to participate together in operations such as the dismissal of the president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete. And in the case of Sabadell, there is also a second intention behind the excuse of the return to normal, which is none other than the defense strategy against the BBVA OPA.
It is clear that the Catalonia of Illa has recovered the institutionality that allows the king to go to the acts that are held in the community, or that makes the Catalan president go to Madrid to state acts on behalf of that part of the territory and that is certainly good news. But the figures say that there are even more companies that leave the region than those that enter.
And the continuous assignments to Puigdemont far from returning normality, I believe that they continue to raise insecurities and resolution in the rest of the communities that feel none and harmed by the privileges granted to Catalonia and that, in most cases, do not serve to improve the lives of citizens or companies.
Do you want to explain to me in what improves the life of the Catalans who are the Mossos who control the borders? Or what legal certainty provides the fact that it is the Catalan Tax Agency that collects and manages all taxes? In fact, until now one of the main problems by which the great executives do not want to be in Catalonia are the high taxes, and if that happens having in their hands the collection capacity over half of the taxes, if they had it over 100% they would still be higher.
So yes, it is very good for companies to return to Catalonia, but for them to really do it, and not only those that have political commitments, more would be worth the governments here and from there focus on the really important thing, which is not to continue assuming competences, but to eliminate bureaucracy, lower taxes and facilitate life to citizens and companies.
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