The Minister of Finance of the Asturian Government, Dolores Carcedo, has made it clear that the Executive will reject the elimination of the current status quo of the communities that receive the most funding (Asturias, among them), if the measure is not compensated by the introduction of other variables that collect the cost of public services in the future financing system. In addition, he has shown the opposition of his Executive to the possible removal of debt for some communities, for understanding that it can harm those who have complied with the deficit ceilings.

Carcedo has offered a press conference together with Roberto Fernández Llera, the representative of the Asturian Administration in the Committee of Experts who is preparing a technical report on the future financing system between Autonomous Communities.

The Commission held its last meeting on Wednesday and has already finalized its report, which is still provisional in nature. The political representatives will have to debate about it. This Thursday

the expert and Carcedo have held a meeting with representatives of the political groups of the General Board to explain issues related to the document.

Carcedo has been prudent until the final draft of the report, which in principle would include the elimination of the status quo. However, he has defended that status quo, unless “the report says that it is phased out because other variables will pick up the cost of services.” In this regard, he added that all communities agree that “the current model is insufficient to cover the cost of public services, so” we need more, we can not lose on current funding, because it is insufficient “.

He also added that according to the aforementioned status quo, the state transferred funds based on what it cost to maintain public services in each community, which includes “the differences in spending.”

One of the controversial points, according to Llera, has been indebtedness. The Asturian expert has been favorable to look for mechanisms of restructuring of that debt (in conditions of loans or types of interest, for example), but has rejected the possibility of the removes, that yes have raised other autonomic representatives.

In this sense, the counselor has been blunt: “we must analyze the debt globally, within a multilateral body such as the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council.” Can not favor some communities and harm others, “he said. He has made it clear that they will not accept any asset that would harm Asturias, and he recalled that the state financing funds were “voluntary funds, so they can not be the instrument to decide on debt relief”.

On the other hand, Llera has pointed out that there is consensus on several aspects, including the harmonization of a common minimum rate of taxation in inheritance and estate taxes for all the Autonomous Communities. There has also been general agreement on the need to strengthen the compensation mechanisms and the Inter-territorial Compensation Fund, which currently has 400 million and of which Asturias currently receives about 13.

CRITICS OF THE RIGHT

After the appearance of Carcedo and Llera, representatives of the opposition parties have made statements. Emma Ramos, of the PP, and Cristina Coto, of the Asturias Forum, have been very upset because they understand that Llera has not come to Madrid to defend the interests of Asturias.

They have criticized that there is no calculation of the cost of public services in the community, and that the expert has not made concrete proposals based on it. According to Ramos, everything seems to indicate that the report will not collect the variables that affect the community, such as dispersion, population aging and orography, and has criticized that neither Carcedo nor its representative have been able to say whether Asturias will benefit or not. report.

Coto has assured that Llera has told them at the meeting that “if we stay as we are, it would not be bad”, which is why he has shown his “concern”. He has rejected the “lack of ambition” of the regional president, Javier Fernández, because “Madrid has to go with rigorous criteria.”

Emilio León, from Podemos, has defended, among other things, the equalization of the costs of education, health and dependency in the autonomous communities and the universalization of education from 0 to three years. He criticized that both PP and PSOE do not question the “scarcity of resources”, and finally the debate on the financing model becomes “a competition for those scarce resources.”

The deputy of IU, Ovidio Zapico, has limited himself to demand that the final report collect a “sufficient financing” of public resources, as well as the elimination of the “tax havens” that constitute some communities, from his point of view.

Nicanor García, of Ciudadanos, has celebrated the criteria of tax harmonization and that the communities with the regional system (Navarra and Euskadi) contribute to the Inter-territorial Compensation Fund and to the compensation mechanisms, as indicated in the document. He asked the Asturian Government during the political debate to be “proactive” in the rejection of debt forgiveness, and in the requirement of establishing variables when making the distribution: dispersion, orography, aging and other issues.