The general deputies of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa explained that in any case it will have retroactive effect, so it will start counting from January 1 next year, and the harmonization between the three areas will prevail.
The tax reform prepared by the provincial treasuries of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa will not be implemented before the end of the year, as confirmed by the three Deputies General, although it is intended that once approved, it will have retroactive effect until January 1, 2025.
At the press conference held after the Basque Council of Finance (CVF), the Deputies General of Álava, Ramiro González; Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxeanobeand Gipuzkoa, Eider MendozaQuestions have been raised about this reform, which will in principle be ‘harmonised’, although some peculiarities may arise in each historical field.
The standard will be presented in Álava and Bizkaia this year. Its approval at the General Meetings will in any case take place from the 2025 financial year onwards.
However, in Gipuzkoa it “will not be possible” to present the standard before the end of the year, as Mendoza has admitted. It is the only area where a presentation has taken place to analyze the tax changes.
The tax changes will be very similar in the three areas because the deputations have a “country vision”, even though “harmonization does not mean uniformization” and it will be possible to introduce small variations in each territory.
The processing in the General Assemblies does not represent a shock to the Bizkaian government, as PNV and PSE-EE have an absolute majority. Etxanobe has contacted the opposition.
As for EH Bildu’s offer to reach a global budget agreement in the main institutions, both Mendoza and González, the two deputies general whose areas need the agreement because they are in the minority, positively appreciate the coalition’s offer, although they emphasize that the scope decision covers the territory.
“Citizens are asking us to reach an agreement,” said Mendoza, who recalled that they have been negotiating with opposition groups on several issues since before the summer. “If there is no agreement, it is not because we are not trying,” he added.
Ramiro González has predicted that the opposition will “link” tax reform to budget negotiations, and although for him they are two different issues, he has no problem tackling them together. He hopes that the absence of elections in the short term will make it possible to reach an agreement.
Source: EITB
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