The Generalitat Valenciana announces a 30% deduction on gym spending for the lowest incomes

The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, and the Minister of Finance, Economy and Public Administration, Ruth Merino, this Thursday at the Generalitat.Ana Escobar (EFE)

The Valencian president, Carlos Mazón, has presented on Thursday a package of fiscal measures that includes tax deductions in the IRPF (Personal Income Tax) of 30% up to a maximum of 150 euros in expenses associated with sports practice (such as the payment of gym or monitors for rehabilitation), oral health or those generated by a family member with mental health problems. The beneficiaries will be people with individual declarations of up to 33,000 euros and joint declarations of up to 48,000, with retroactive effect from January 1, 2023. In total, 2.1 million Valencians, according to the estimate of the Generalitat.

This package also includes deductions of 30% up to 100 euros in expenses for the acquisition of prescription glass, lenses or cleaning solutions; for those caused by a family member suffering from a rare or highly complex pathology, or for those generated by a family member with Alzheimer's or acquired brain damage. The economic impact of this measure is estimated at 180,000 million euros. The most expensive section is oral health, with 80.3 million euros, followed by optical, 63 million.

In addition, Mazón has presented a reduction in the Property Transfer Tax, the so-called housing tax, which includes a super-reduced rate of 6% (it was 8%) for the acquisition of a home with a price of less than 180,000 euros for young people under 35, for all types of income; 6% for officially protected habitual residence up to 180,000 euros (also without income discrimination), and 3% for official protection housing up to 180,000 of special regime and for housing for large families, people with disabilities and women subject to gender violence. These reductions will cost income of 19 million euros and could benefit about 15,000 young people, according to calculations by the Valencian Government, formed by the PP and Vox.

In total, the deductions from both packages amount to €200 million. These measures are included in the draft of the draft law accompanying the budgets of the Generalitat for 2024, which was published this Thursday. Mazón stressed that these are aids to alleviate "the fiscal pressure" of people with lower incomes and who are suffering the most from the rise in prices. He added that "the preliminary draft is open to dialogue" to introduce proposals and modifications. In addition, he stressed the importance of promoting "healthy living", something that "will help reduce health spending in the medium term".

"This is the first big step of a tax reform that will go further. The objectives will be achieved, and we will encourage the pocket of citizens always in a complementary way to the tax reduction, "he said, before referring to "that virtuous circle in which lowering taxes ends up collecting more", since citizens have "more money in their pocket" that "reverts to the economy". He has insisted that the collection will not suffer from these deductions, nor from the already announced bonus of 99% of the Inheritance and Donations Tax, which has been estimated at 166 million for next year, but will be expanded.

The tax reform of the PP and Vox has a total impact of 366 million euros, according to their accounts, which will stop entering the second most indebted autonomous community in Spain after Catalonia.

Comments of the ESC

In this sense, the Economic and Social Committee (CES) of the Valencian Community, a consultative body of the Generalitat, yesterday announced its opinion on the first fiscal measure of the new Consell, which was the suppression of the Inheritance and Donations Tax. In it, he points out that "the economic report included in the complete file that accompanies the Draft Law estimates the economic impact of the reform at 231.53 million euros. Based on the budget execution data, the overall collection of the tax has been substantially higher in the last two years, so the CES CV calls for its review, "says one of the observations.

This figure of 231.53 million euros of the economic impact that will mean eliminating this tax is different from the 166 million that Mazón has provided today. The Minister of Finance, Ruth Merino, who has appeared with the president, explained to this newspaper that the difference is that the report used by the CES is not updated until September, as is the figure of 166 million.

"The Committee," says another, "has noted in its annual socio-economic reports that "there is an overall insufficiency of resources to cover the expenses of the autonomous communities, with the consequences that this has, above all, in the provision of fundamental public services." In this sense, "the CES CV considers that the approval of the norm will mean a decrease in income of the Valencian Community derived from the bonus of the Inheritance and Donations Tax", he points out.

The Socialist parliamentary deputy spokesman and former Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, has described the fiscal policy of the Consell de Mazón as a "smokescreen". "The devil is in the details," he said. "The Consell de Mazón forgives 350 million euros to 24,000 Valencians while raising the water bill to 2 million Valencians." He questions the calculations of the Consell and recalls, in reference to the suppression of the Inheritance Tax, that "the CES of the Valencian Community itself has said unanimously that tax reductions for high incomes put public services at risk".

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