The discussion about fiscal policy and absenteeism at work, along with the role of small and medium-sized businesses (pymes) and options for companies to grow in size, has taken center stage in the first part of the debate among the heads of list in Barcelona for the general elections of 29 November, organized this Monday by Pimec.
The moderator, journalist Cristina Riba, noted at the start that the ERC candidate, Gabriel Rufián, had confirmed his attendance, but he ultimately communicated that he would not attend due to "an indisposition" and to tiredness.
ERC proposed to the employers' association a substitution of Rufián for the event, but Pimec rejected this option. Finally, Jordi Hereu (PSC), Ernest Urtasun (Comuns-Front Ampli), Xavier García Albiol (PP), Miriam Nogueras (Junts), and Juanjo Aizcorbe (Vox) have taken part in the debate.
In a message on "X", Rufián has denied that his absence is due to tiredness: "We couldn't go due to scheduling problems", and he has considered it legitimate that an alternative to number 1 is not accepted, although he has recalled that Urtasun is Colau's number 2.
Indexing the IRPF
On tax matters, the existence of two blocs has been made clear: Hereu and Urtasun, on the one hand, against Albiol, Nogueras and Aizcorbe, on the other, since the former have rejected applying generalized indexing to all brackets of the IRPF.
"I won't sign up for an auction to see who makes the biggest cut, because it seems unreal and a lack of respect", Hereu said, who has defended responsible taxation and has recalled that tax pressure in Spain is below the EU average.
Urtasun has also ruled out a global indexing, although he has emphasized that the SMI is already exempt and has shown himself willing to "study" indexing in the following brackets, as long as it is limited to the lowest incomes.
Nogueras has promised to push for indexing and has regretted that the central government has not put it into motion, stating that it will be "non-negotiable" for his party from 29N onwards that Catalonia take over the management of all taxes.
Albiol has argued that the solution is not to saddle business owners with more taxes, as he says the Frente Amplio proposes, and he has criticized the level of tax pressure in Catalonia: "Someone should ask themselves why there are companies that are leaving Catalonia and going to other territories in our country".
Aizcorbe has agreed to call for a tax cut and for the need to "spend well everything that the State collects," and has specified his IRPF proposal: exemption up to 2,000 euros per month; a rate of 15% up to 70,000 euros per year; and 25% starting from 75,000 euros.
Workplace absenteeism
Absenteeism has grabbed much of the first block of the meeting, and Albiol has adopted an especially tough tone by stating that, although there are employees who request sick leave for justified reasons, "there is a part of the workers who take sick leave to extend the weekend, or because they say they are depressed."
Urtasun has replied by reminding him that "sick leaves are all prescribed by a doctor," and has pointed out that many are due to physical ailments, so he considers it essential to reduce waiting lists, strengthen healthcare, and support companies in implementing plans to decrease these injuries, as well as to prioritize mental health.
Hereu has shared the need to strengthen the healthcare system in order to shorten diagnosis times; he has linked this improvement to the autonomous financing model to reinforce public services in Catalonia, including healthcare, and has advocated for intensifying collaboration with labor mutual insurance companies.
From Junts, Nogueras has backed both the reinforcement of cooperation with mutual insurance companies and the speeding up of diagnoses, and has underlined that it is key to coordinate between the administrations and the Social Security to protect employees and, at the same time, "guarantee the competitiveness of SMEs".
Aizcorbe has placed absenteeism among the greatest concerns of the business fabric and has assured that temporary incapacity managed by Social Security (INSS) lasts longer than that handled by mutual insurance companies: "Something is going on here if the sick-leave times are different."
The role of SMEs
As for SMEs and their development, Hereu has described as a "historical fact" that in this legislature Pimec has moved to become part of the State Council for the Small and Medium-Sized Company, and he has warned that, in his view, the right maintains an economic culture more oriented toward large corporations.
Urtasun has called for eliminating “obstacles” so that microenterprises can grow and has committed to reforming late payment regulations, facilitating entry into public contracting and adjusting taxation so that small firms do not compete on an unequal footing against large ones.
For the PP, the priority is to change the Government’s perception of businesspeople: “They see them as if they were criminals,” Albiol has denounced, who has criticized the climate of hostility toward entrepreneurs and that administrations treat them as adversaries.
Nogueras has highlighted the initiatives of his formation in defense of SMEs in the previous legislature, such as the approval of the law against multirecidivism, and has proposed that, in the next stage, SMEs should not have to pay VAT until they have been paid the invoices.
Lastly, Aizcorbe has concentrated his proposal for SMEs on two axes: deregulate and “undo the entire administrative web,” and apply a tax cut against the plunder, he said, to which businesspeople are subjected.