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The PP wants to join the point that its proposals in the face of the energy emergency that Europe is experiencing and those of the community authorities go hand in hand. Until yesterday, Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s party rejected any tax on extraordinary profits from electricity companies due to the increase in the price of gas produced by the war in Ukraine. On Tuesday, he even voted against debating in Congress the taxation of these companies, in addition to banking. After the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, stated in the State of the Union debate that “it is not right to receive benefits from war and that consumers pay the price” and announced a tax that she intends to collect ” 140,000 million”, the PP opens to negotiate with the coalition government. Of course, if it also leaves out the financial sector.
The PP proposes that electricity companies be compensated with public money if they lower the bill for those who save energy
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The taxes proposed by the PSOE and United We Can, whose parliamentary process has just begun, are technically different from the tax that must be approved by a qualified majority of EU member states this September. The Executive has already said that if their idea does not fit into the European framework they will modify it, which has been used by the PP to get on a train whose last car they were watching pass by. His latest proposal was to compensate electricity companies with public money if they lower the bill for those who save energy.
“The pronouncement of the high European authorities, in total consonance with the PP”, said the Deputy Secretary for Regional and Local Policy, Pedro Rollán, at a press conference to present an internal event with deputies that the party is preparing for this end of week in Toledo. In case there were any doubts, Rollán added: “The pronouncement of the European Commission is an amendment to the entirety of the Government’s energy policy”.
The PP clings to two details to justify its No to what was raised in Spain and its Yes as proposed by Brussels. The first, that the PSOE and Unida Podemos bill proposes taxing the income of energy companies, while the Commission is studying whether the taxation is on extraordinary profits. The second, that Europe wants the money collected to be used for energy policy.
Among other things, Brussels would allow countries to allocate part of the collection to reduce consumer bills. But also more things, such as advancing in decarbonisation, in the implementation of renewables or in energy efficiency. The PP is left alone with the first part and charges against the alleged collection trends of the Government.
No to bank tax
These two differences (whether income or profits are taxed, and a specific purpose) lead the PP to consider the PSOE and United We Can proposal as an “ideological tax on the Ibex” and demand its withdrawal.
The PP wants the Government to present a tax exclusively for energy, and not to move a comma from what Brussels proposes, despite the fact that this week they presented a comprehensive package of energy measures for the energy sector that did not mention any tax to extraordinary benefits.
What the PP is not willing to talk about is a no banking tax. PP sources consider that it is an “ideological” movement to “settle accounts” because “people are having a bad time.”
