Madrid (EFE).- The large energy companies and financial institutions paid 1,454.5 million euros in the first payment of the new extraordinary taxes for these sectors, according to what the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, announced on Tuesday.
In the press conference after the Council of Ministers, Montero has detailed that the energy tax collected 817.4 million and the bank, 637.1 million, in the first payment period that ended this Monday, which indicates that the annual collection will exceed 2,900 million, in line with what was foreseen by the Government.
For Montero, this amount is “quite assumable” for sectors that have reported millionaire benefits -20,500 million for large banks and 12,000 for energy companies, he cited-, therefore, in his opinion, in no case “can it be considered confiscatory” but rather “provided”.
The new extraordinary and temporary taxes for banking and energy, in force since the beginning of the year, tax the intermediation margin and income from non-regulated activities in Spain, respectively. Half of this amount is paid in the first twenty days of February as payment on account.
The forecast collection of these figures, after the modifications introduced in the parliamentary process, is 1,700 million per year for energy and 1,300 million per year for banks, figures that everything indicates that they will be reached according to the result of the first advance payment. .
Montero asks for a small effort and to help citizens
Montero has assured that the financial and energy sectors “have the clear support of the Government”, but that he asks them “to make a small effort and contribute to help the citizens of their country in the face of historical benefits”, that “in their day” had to assume the rescue of the bank.
“Now it’s time (…) to pitch in,” the minister insisted, without referring to the appeals filed by both the financial and energy sectors against the new figures.
Montero has defended that these two taxes, together with the solidarity tax for large fortunes, intend to advance “fiscal justice” and the fight against inequality through the constitutional mandate to contribute based on ability.
These taxes, he added, make it possible to finance aid and policies “to protect the social majority”, such as the reduction of energy taxes, VAT for basic foods or the 200-euro check for vulnerable families.
The taxes, he stressed, “are not the result of improvisation but are part of a coherent tax model” that seeks to advance tax justice, which is “the opposite of what conservative forces defend” when they advocate lowering taxes from generalized way.
With respect to a possible impact of the implementation of the new taxes, Montero pointed out that in the first weeks of the year tax collection has progressed as expected, with year-on-year increases of over 15%, a rebound that “will modulating over time.
