The first phase of the Catalonia?s adjustment plan has come to an end with the finalization of their 2012 budget, which is mostly based on cutting back public spending in order to restrain the deficit. From now onward, the goal is to keep spending steady so that public services are not affected while at the same time regional government can increase its revenues.
Financial pressure and the appearance of new taxes will have much to do with the government's ability to raise funds. According to yesterday's report from the Minister for Economy and Knowledge, Andreu Mas-Colell, the budgets are foreseeing initiatives such as the polemical "ticket moderator" that will record one euro for each public health expenditure in Catalonia, which elEconomista reported on this October 23. The ticket will be universal, but will also be subject to modifications so that "those who have more will pay more," said Mas-Colell.
The Catalonian government hopes that the ticket, which will be charged at pharmacies, will provide an additional revenue source of 102 million euros. It remains to be seen if the government will approve healthcare co-pay, though it is likely that that will happen.
The tourism tax will also become a bigger factor. It will assess taxes between one and three euros for each overnight guest, depending on the category of the establishment. With this rate, the Catalonian government hopes to collect at least another 100 million euros.
Ultimately the Catalonian government for 2012 has risen to 23.942 billion euros. It is worth noting that 2 billion euros are designated to paying off financial interest.
