The Canary Islands and the other Autonomous Communities are debating whether or not to lower taxes in the face of the inflationary wave that is hitting the European economy.
Despite pressure from the opposition and employers, and even against the opinion of experts who urge lowering the tax on fuels, the regional government insists that the first thing is to guarantee the correct provision of public services, and for this it is necessary to collect taxes.
The Executive does not want to be without sufficient income in the face of a possible crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the extraordinary rise in prices, despite having the healthiest public finances in the country, according to data from the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF).
And it is that AIReF calculates that the Canary Islands will close the year with a surplus equivalent to 0.4% of its GDP, and with a public debt of 11.9% of the regional GDP, 2.1 points less than before the pandemic.
Very positive data compared to other communities, such as Murcia, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha and the Valencian Community, where it is calculated that public debt will far exceed 30%, and even 40% in the latter.
Unless inflation and the war in Eastern Europe prevent it, the Archipelago will end 2022 as the only community that will have chained the last four years in surplus. This makes the Canary Islands, by far, the community with the public finances in the best position to face the uncertain economic future that lies ahead.
Read the full story in La Provincia.