The Deputy Secretary of Economy and Sustainable Development of the PP, Alberto Nadal, has lashed out this Saturday against the rising cost of living during Holy Week, focusing on the increase in fuel prices and other basic products, as well as on the alleged "deterioration" of public services after "eight years of socialist government."
In his statements, Nadal has pointed out that numerous families traveling these days have encountered "higher gasoline prices, generally higher prices", in addition to finding roads in poor condition and a railway service that, as he pointed out, "does not work as it used to". In this regard, he has regretted that the high-speed train, "which was a national pride", now registers delays and a reduction in frequencies.
The economic head of the PP has associated this scenario with the loss of purchasing power of households, stressing that "inflation has eaten up wages" while, in his view, tax pressure has not stopped growing. For this reason, he demands changes in income tax, with special attention to families, and reproaches the Government for resisting to undertake this reform.
As an argument, he has cited the latest collection data, highlighting that "income from personal income tax (IRPF) and VAT has grown to 100,000 million euros." He specified that 65,000 million come from IRPF and another 35,000 million from VAT, which, he recalled, families pay through their consumption.
"And all for what? For deteriorated public services," Nadal has denounced, who has also remarked that Spain is, according to the European Central Bank, the country in the euro zone that makes the least public investment, despite the increase in the tax burden.
The 'popular' leader has emphasized that households with children are the ones most suffering the price escalation, especially in concepts like energy and food, which have a greater weight in their shopping basket.
At the same time, he has maintained that the current configuration of the Executive prevents carrying out deep reforms, assuring that Spain "has neither Government nor Parliament to carry them out", and has described as "urgent" not only a turn in economic policies, but also the call for general elections "to change government".
In this framework, the deputy secretary of the PP has defended the convenience of modifying the economic strategy and has claimed that the main relief measures approved to date respond to initiatives previously proposed by his party, such as the tax reduction on gasoline, electricity, gas or butane, which, as he indicated, were initially rejected by the Executive.
To conclude, he/she has warned that the economic crisis "is dragging on" and has insisted on the need to launch new actions aimed at boosting productivity and "reform the country".