Congress has stood up to the Government and rejected a veto with which the Executive tried to stop a legal modification aimed at making the aid received by people affected by thalidomide in Spain between 1950 and 1985 exempt from Personal Income Tax.
In 2023, the Government approved a royal decree that regulated the procedure for granting compensation to those affected by thalidomide, a medication prescribed in those decades as a sedative and to alleviate nausea in pregnant women, which ended up causing thousands of congenital malformations.
Despite the fact that these aids were approved, their tax exemption was not contemplated, and Sumar, the minority partner of the Executive, registered a legal reform in Congress to correct this situation. Specifically, the group presented an amendment, reported by Europa Press, with which it intended to add a final provision to the bill that establishes an employment quota reserve in companies for people with disabilities.
An impact of 20.3 million on revenue
According to the Government's veto cited by Europa Press, the initiative of the plurinational group implied a reduction of 20.3 million euros in state revenue, which is why the Executive resorted to the power granted by Article 134.6 of the Constitution to block parliamentary initiatives that involve an increase in spending or a drop in revenue.
The Government sent a letter of disagreement with Sumar's amendment to remove it from the parliamentary process, but the Bureau of the Labor Commission, chaired by Sumar deputy Aina Vidal and with the support of the PP, opted not to admit the Executive's veto and to proceed with the processing of the amendment, according to parliamentary sources told Europa Press.
Next Tuesday, June 23, a working group of the Labor Commission will meet behind closed doors to analyze the bill and, if it achieves sufficient support, the amendment may be incorporated into the report as it has not been vetoed. In parallel, the Bureau has indeed processed the Government's veto to other amendments presented by Sumar and Junts.