The REF Commissioner, José Ramón Barrera, presented a proposal in La Palma for the Canary Islands special tax regime to not only be an instrument of equity between the Canary Islands and the rest of the country and Europe, but also promote homogeneous internal growth.
To this end, he seeks to establish a fiscal multiplier for non-capital islands in order to compensate for the difficulties arising from double insularity.
In addition, he advocated for measures that favor the return of talent and strengthen the local economy. «It is necessary to modernize the REF to adapt it to the new realities and ensure that the Canary Islands can compete on equal terms,» he said.
Barrera offered the inaugural conference of the cycle ‘What REF model do we need?, The peripheral islands and double insularity’, organized by the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country of La Palma.
During his speech, the commissioner positively assessed the consideration this week in the Congress of Deputies of his proposal to reform the Reserve for Investments in the Canary Islands (RIC), so that SMEs and the self-employed can invest in the construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of properties for residential rental, which he hopes can soon become a reality and help expand supply and moderate prices.
The representative of the Government of the Canary Islands also presented other proposals for the modernization of the REF that favor the primary sector and local industry, facilitate the employability of young people and those over 55 years of age, capitalize Canary Islands companies and improve the income of workers and the self-employed with an IRPF deduction similar to the one applied in La Palma since the eruption of Tajogaite.
