The Spanish government presented on Tuesday the general state budget project for 2021 after reaching an agreement concerning the tax increase and a record public spending on social care
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2020) The Spanish government presented on Tuesday the general state budget project for 2021 after reaching an agreement concerning the tax increase and a record public spending on social care.
"It is a progressive budget, absolutely exceptional by the context of the pandemic and by the volume of the public investment that is mobilized," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said at a joint press conference with Vice President Pablo Iglesias.
Iglesias also announced an increase in personal income tax by three percent on individual income over 200,000 Euros ($236,372). The wealth tax will be raised by one percent on the assets exceeding 10 million euros.
According to Sanchez, the record public spending on social care will increase by 10.3 percent, which will amount to more than 239,000 euros, and will help stop austerity, as well as prioritize spending to move the economy forward.
This increase in spending will cover mainly the health sector, with the rise in spending amounting to 151 percent, the expenditure on ecological programs will be 11.9 billion euros and the spending on the housing sector will increase by 367 percent.
By introducing these measures, the Spanish government wants to focus its efforts on the recovery of the economy after the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the strengthening of the state's welfare.
The current Spanish budget was adopted in 2018 under the administration of the conservative People's Party. In 2019, the parliament attempted to adopt a new budget but it failed. In 2020, the government did not send a new draft budget to parliament due to the lack of necessary support from lawmakers.
