Finally, the extraordinary tax on energy companies that Spain has designed “will be adjusted” to the figure adopted in Europe , which will imply that instead of taxing income, the profits of these companies will be taxed. In this way, the aspect that had generated the most controversy among economists, who claimed that taxing income was economic nonsense, is resolved.
This has been advanced by the Minister of Finance and Public Function, María Jesús Montero, during an interview in statements to Antena 3 in which she highlighted that Spain has been at the forefront in this matter as it is the first country that raised this tribute to energy companies and banking : “Europe has come behind”, he underlined.
The minister has insisted that, when the Commission’s discussion ends, in which Spain is also participating, the Spanish tax will be adjusted to the figure decided in Brussels. The debate in the European capital is quite advanced. Community authorities plan to establish a tax on 33% of profits (which are considered as extraordinary or dropped from the sky).
In the case of the tax that the Government of Spain intended to impose, the rate was going to fall on income (instead of profits), which could generate certain nonsense and inefficiencies that greatly harm companies that saw their income increase without this was reflected in higher profits.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, assured this Wednesday that her “proposal will raise more than 140,000 million eurosthat will allow the Member States to cushion the blow directly. And because we are in the midst of a fossil fuel crisis, the fossil fuel industry also has a special obligation. Big oil, gas and coal companies are also making huge profits. And for that they have to pay a fair share: they have to make a contribution against the crisis.
These are all emergency and temporary measures that we are working on, including the price cap discussion. We need to continue working to reduce gas prices. We have to guarantee security of supply and, at the same time, our competitiveness on a global scale,” the European president said.
The gas VAT reduction will also apply to collective boilers
In the same intervention, Montero has also confirmed that the reduction in VAT on gas from 21% to 5% announced by the Government will also benefit the communities of owners that have collective boilers and will thus be contemplated in the Contingency Plan.
“The Government had identified this situation so that there would be no problems and they could also benefit from the lowering of the bill”, said the minister to specify that the technical mechanism by which this reduction will be applied to the communities of affected owners is being studied.