The first measure adopted by the new Government of the Canary Islands was to reduce the tax contribution of the wealthiest, eliminating the inheritance and gift tax, a decision that primarily benefits those who receive inheritances above 1.2 million euros per person, that is, less than 6,000 Canarians. The second measure consisted of substantially increasing the size, and consequently the expenses, of the Executive; 26 more senior officials and 22 more advisors than the previous one, a total, therefore, of 48, with a total cost exceeding 3.8 million euros per year. And it was carried out by the same people who criticized the previous Executive for having, according to them, excessive positions. The third measure, confirmed in the recent presentation of the Community's Budgets for 2024, is the failure to comply with the reduction of the IGIC from 7% to 5%, promised in the electoral campaign and included in the CC-PP agreement and in the investiture speech.
To these are added others, such as the decree law for the control of public television and radio. Always, until now, qualified majorities were sought, and therefore parliamentary agreements beyond the parties that support the Government of the day, regarding the Canary Islands Radio Television. There is no doubt that they are approving a decree law with the undisguised attempt to control the public media from the Executive. Or, in another area, the slowdown at the beginning of this course to the decisive implementation of early childhood education 0-3 years, failing to develop the strategic plan launched in the last legislature.
Despite these notable differences with their first actions, we have supported the Government in matters of great importance. Among them, the declaration of electrical emergency, where we presented amendments that were accepted. And, likewise, in the joint declaration of the parliamentary groups with the Government in relation to migration issues. Or the proposal of NC-bc, accepted by the Executive, of new aid to farmers.
Budgets
The conservative Government presented a few days ago the preliminary draft of the Canary Islands Community Budgets for 2024. In a first analysis, I consider that these are imprudent and unsustainable public accounts over time. Very expansive, with a growth of 1,121 million euros (11% more than that of this 2023), although very unevenly distributed among the different government departments, punishing education, our universities, social services or the primary sector.
In the framework of an economy that is beginning to show signs of stagnation and the return of fiscal rules, the Budget proposes a growth in public spending that, as the Airef report (Independent Authority of Fiscal Responsibility) says, doubles the recommended amount of the spending rule (6% instead of 3%), in addition to transferring occasional income to current spending, which will pose major problems in the Budgets of 2025 and 2026.
It is paradoxical that those who denigrated the previous progressive Executive for maintaining expansive budgets in circumstances that made it essential, for the fight against Covid 19 and its health, economic and social consequences, defend it; and in a context that, in addition, facilitated it, due to the significant volume of public resources mobilized in the state and European spheres that we captured for the Canary Islands and due to the suspension of fiscal rules. Rules that will be recovered in 2024, although, from their statements, some members of the current Canary Islands Executive seemed to ignore it.
In addition, these public accounts for next year confirm the programmed and massive deception of the conservative Government and the parties that support it, by failing to fulfill the promise to reduce the IGIC from seven percent to five percent, while raising the rates of some products. With these measures, they increase revenues by 16.70%. That is, the opposite of what they defended, and for which they criticized the Pact of Progress. As I have pointed out these days, they copy (badly) our policies and seriously fail to fulfill their promises.
It is necessary to remember now the permanent complaints of Fernando Clavijo during the last legislature, pointing out that the progressive Executive "was enriched by collecting more while families were impoverished" or that "more was collected than ever in the worst moment for families." Either he deceived then or he deceives now, when the modifications introduced imply an increase in the tax pressure. Likewise, it is demonstrated how they use fiscal matters electorally; and, above all, their enormous speed in adopting measures, by decree law, to benefit minorities with higher incomes, to 0.3% of Canarians.
IGIC
The problem, no less, is that their publicized electoral promises, both by CC and the PP, to carry out a significant reduction of the IGIC were as demagogic as they were irresponsible. Promises that, in addition, were part of the government agreement between CC and PP, as well as the investiture speech.
Demagogic because it is not true that this decrease was the panacea in the face of high inflation and would impact a substantial reduction in prices, as they said, deceiving the electorate. And it is not so because the vast majority of the products that make up the shopping basket -meats and fish, bread, milk, fruits, vegetables, cereals, cheeses, potatoes...- have a zero rate of IGIC in the Canary Islands, when in the State it ranges between 4 and 10% of VAT. Medicines and feminine hygiene products (10 percent in the rest of the State), books -including electronic ones-, passenger transport or electricity for 96% of consumers also have a zero rate in the Islands. It is also 0% for fuel, compared to the state 21%. Or gas.
Spending capacity
It was, in addition, a clearly irresponsible approach. That announced reduction from 7% to 5% would mean a huge reduction in spending capacity, around 1,100 million euros, not only for the Government, but also for the island councils and municipalities; and the consequent immediate application of cuts in health, education, social services, investments in infrastructure and aid to productive sectors. An unmitigated disaster. For that reason, then and now, when we govern and when we are in the opposition, from NC-bc we have firmly rejected the alleged generalized reduction of the IGIC.
By the way, the other 'great' fiscal measure that they announce for the Budgets of next year, the one that affects the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), consists of an extension of the measures and of the same global amount, one hundred million euros, that we adopted in the previous Government to alleviate the effects of inflation and that, of course, at the time, both CC and the PP harshly criticized.
In short, the presentation of the preliminary draft law of the Canary Islands Community Budgets for 2024, the first in this legislature of the CC-PP Government, brings to light many of its inconsistencies, deceptions, breaches and oversights. Those that have characterized the first hundred days of the Government of the two rights.
