More Europe, more civilization, more taxes

Good morning!

How do you spend your week? We are hopeful about the steps that are being taken Europe must recognize the Palestinian state. It is the civilized response to the genocide that Israel is committing on Palestinian territory. On the economic issue, there is nothing more civil than taxes. That is why we do not understand the decision of the Community of Madrid to regain some version of the version spirit of 'Beckham's law', which José María Aznar has approved in Spain. This rule meant a significant tax reduction for foreigners with the aim of attracting millionaires and especially football stars to our country.

Now the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso is trying to approve this a law that includes a deduction for the regional part of the personal income tax 20% for financial investments made by foreigners moving to the Community of Madrid from January 1, 2024. One of the beneficiaries could be French footballer Kylian Mbappé, who Florentino Pérez's Real Madrid are planning to sign. Just like with the Englishman David Beckham, the tax measure now seems to be made to serve the interests of Real Madrid. Here we explain the rule that Ayuso wants to approve to reduce taxes for foreigners on the eve of the possible arrival of Mbappé.

And the election campaign for the European Union elections is approaching and taxes are returning to the arena of political struggle. For example, with the claim 'Tax the rich', the Left Group (GUE/NGL) of the European Parliament has produced a report advocating the introduction of a progressive tax of between 20% and 40% on 209 companies to approximately 107,000 million euros to be raised. The aim is to increase countries' accounts, improve public services and achieve a fairer distribution of wealth. In this link we will tell you about the tax on 200 multinationals such as Philip Morris or Apple, which could bring 107,000 million euros into the treasury of Europe.

The PSOE has also made a proposal, transferring some of the tax figures it implemented in the coalition government. Your voter program includes the introduction of a European tax on large fortunes, as well as a special tax on extraordinary banking profits in the European Union.

These European elections are crucial to stop the wave of the extreme right. It is necessary to apply fiscal policy at European level as a redistributive formula that puts an end to the neoliberal recipes of the right and the far right, based on inequality and hatred of those who are different. More Europe, more civilization, more taxes.

The image

The youngest They no longer have the option to even take out a mortgage., while the oldest do not stop increasing their net worth, according to the latest Financial Survey of Families from the Bank of Spain. The right, the neoliberal think tanks, in short, the enemies of public pensions, soon came out and accused the coalition government of pursuing a decent policy: guaranteeing the purchasing power of pensioners. If you do not stay on the surface and take the trouble to read the Bank of Spain report with more interest and depth, you will discover that the cause of the inequality between pensioners and young people is not the increase in pensions, but the difficult access to housing and low unemployment. salaries for people of working age, especially those under 35. In this link we explain that the cause of the generation gap is not pensions, but housing and low salaries.

The data

Money has been spent on the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI). the purchase of 10% of Telefónica's capital. The state's entry into the telecom company is a response to the purchase of almost 10% by a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. Despite criticism from the right, The State's entry into Telefónica is no exception: France, Germany and Italy also participate in major 'telecos'. What wasn't normal was the privatization and emptying of public enterprises carried out by the government of José María Aznar. When it comes to industrial sovereignty, the state becoming a shareholder in some companies is the best way to defend our country.

Entrepreneur

When can a company create an EUA? Is it morally acceptable for a company to fire dozens of employees while making millions in profits? Shouldn't receiving government aid be an obstacle to throwing people onto the streets? These may be trivial questions for someone who has a minimum of sensitivity and advocates for the common good, but there is not everything in this society. Avatel Telecom proposes an EUA for 849 employees, 45% of the workforce. If you dig a little: 292 million euros in subsidies from the Spanish government, multi-million dollar bonuses for 'key staff' and a 75% salary increase for the leadership in 2023, with two of the three key executives based in Andorra. Here we tell you how Avatel executives get a million dollar bonus while receiving government aid and preparing to lay off hundreds of people.

Letters that are a treasure

This week we recommend the book So that there is a future (Deusto editions) by Juan Torres (Granada, 1954), professor of Applied Economics at the University of Seville. The economist describes the serious problems he believes the left faces in meeting the challenge of proposing solutions to humanity's problems that appeal to citizens. Meanwhile, the left has forgotten the republican values ​​of liberty, equality and fraternity, and the neoliberal right has managed to articulate discourses closer to the people. A necessary self-criticism. In this interview with Juan Torres you will get more explanation about how “the right has become revolutionary and the left no longer dreams”.

Every time he speaks, the bread rises

This historic demand will improve the working conditions of Basque workers, as well as workers in the rest of the state.

Aitor Esteban
— Spokesperson for the PNV in Congress

This is one of the consequences of the parliamentary weakness of the coalition government, which is forced to agree on measures that go against its own positions. The words you see above this section are from Aitor Esteban, spokesperson for the PNV in Congress. The primacy of regional collective agreements over sectoral ones is an old aspiration of Basque nationalists. It is a formula to split negotiations and thus weaken the unions. The labor reform achieved a major change by ending the primacy of the corporate agreement that Mariano Rajoy had proclaimed. The approval, this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, of the Royal Decree-Law for improving protection against unemployment benefitsonce again brought to light the dissatisfaction of unions and employers the prevalence of regional and provincial agreements over state agreements, which Pedro Sánchez negotiated to gain the PNV's support for his investiture. It's a step back. Here we explain why unions and employers disagree that regional agreements are more important than sectoral agreements..

public good

When does the working day end in times of constant digital connection? Digital disconnection is a right, but like that of housing, legally recognized but with no real impact on people's lives. Since 2019, legislation has obliged companies to develop internal policies that guarantee this decoupling, but in the collective agreements, the binding agreements that regulate working conditions, signed in 2023, 8.4% referred to the decoupling and only 26% developed a protocol. to UGT data. It is a relevant issue because it can have serious consequences for the mental health of employees. Here you have a report from David Noriega on companies skipping digital disconnection and its consequences.

We like competition

Now we show you a series of articles from other media that we found interesting:

This week is over, we'll be back next Thursday. In the meantime, you can write to us at contraoferta@eldiario.es if you have a proposal or idea. The Festival of Ideas and Culture (FIC) in Barcelona, which we celebrated on June 28 and 29 with Margaret Atwood, Sidonie and Juan Diego Botto, among others. It's a free event and open to the public, so we hope you'll come along.

Good week!