The Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, has harshly criticized the growing discourse of delegitimization of taxes promoted by certain conservative formations, and has appealed to the need to exercise "democratic patriotism."
"I would like to debate progressivity and redistribution. That debate is legitimate and necessary in our democracy. What is not so legitimate is to question taxes," the head of Finance warned during his speech at the CREO Forum, organized by Cinco Días.
In his speech, España referred to the recent tax proposal from Vox regarding the IRPF, which would imply a reduction in public revenues of 85 billion. "It is a real madness," the minister warned, recalling that this figure represents around 80% of total healthcare spending in Spain or even more than the entire budget allocated to education.
For this reason, he demanded that the discussion on fiscal policy always take into account the level of spending supported by taxes and insisted on the need for more "pedagogy" around public services. As an illustrative example, he pointed out that a night in an ICU bed during the pandemic cost 3,000 euros without the patient being charged that amount, and he also cited the care for childbirth, hip surgeries, rescues by the Civil Guard, public transport, university, and scholarships.
In parallel, the minister expanded his reproaches to the current debate on pensions and described as "a great irresponsibility" the claims that the system "has crashed."
In this regard, he defended the actions of the Executive and highlighted that the so-called pension fund has increased by 15 billion euros, while the average retirement pension has risen by 43%. He also emphasized that pensions are linked to the evolution of prices, as part of the package of measures designed to safeguard the purchasing power of its beneficiaries.
To conclude, Spain has once again appealed to the exercise of a "democratic patriotism" and has defended that the business fabric requires a robust, transparent democracy, with effective counterpowers and respectful of rights. After reminding European businessmen that they have positioned themselves against fanaticism, racism, and attempts to dismantle the European Union, it has brought up the famous 'whatever it takes' from Mario Draghi to close its intervention with a resounding message: "Let’s do whatever it takes to save European democracy."