MADRID | Elvira RodrÃguez, who chairs the Spanish parliamentary committee on Economy and Competitiveness, and is a former State secretary for Budget and Expenditure, had two words to say about the government’s public budget: rigour and responsibility. RodrÃguez published Monday an op-ed in the business daily Cinco DÃas, probably in advance of the heaviest wave [...]
Spain’s Budget less daunting than expected
MADRID | The Spanish government claims the 2012 budget to be the toughest ever. On face value it embodies a 2.5% GDP deficit reduction, an awesome effort by any standard. Slashing expenditure amounts to two thirds of the squeeze, the rest falling on tax adjustments. Will budgetary crunch depress activity or axe main spending policies? [...]
Trick or treat: the Spanish budget
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | Spain’s 2012 budget brings a contraction in public spending of €18 billion and an increase in taxes of €9 billion, both items totaling €27 billion, which would put central government deficit at 3.5%. To reach the pursued 5.3%, the rest of the effort corresponds to the autonomous regional governments, not [...]
Why such a fuss about Spain’s budget?
By Juan Pedro MarÃn Arrese, in Madrid |Â The Spanish government will unveil today its budget bill for 2012. In the good old days, analysts and observers bent over its pages to find the clues for public sector priorities in the year. Nowadays you can dispose of such a demanding task. Brussels has unravelled its complexity, [...]
