Ayuso sees his reform in jeopardy to attract foreign assets and files specialists to raise funds in the US, France and the United Kingdom

The regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Alberto Ortega (Europa Press)

On February 24, an intervention by Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, unleashes all the alarms in the team of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Community of Madrid.

"We are not going to accept that foreigners, the millionaires they want to bring, which seems very good to us, be allowed to buy properties in Spain in better tax conditions than the Spanish", says the head of the only party that can help the PP to approve the tax bonus that it sponsors to attract assets from outside the country.

Immediately, the conservatives delayed the vote on that measure until the last plenary session of the legislature.

And since continuing to attract funds from outside Spain is key for the regional government, another commitment is maintained and underlines: spending more than 217.

“[It seeks] the identification and capture of foreign direct investment for the Community of Madrid;

[and the] search, identification and recruitment of foreign companies located in strategic markets, belonging to preferred sectors of activity and with international expansion plans, with the aim of attracting their investment projects to the Community of Madrid and, simultaneously, attracting foreign entrepreneurs looking for prosperous and favorable economic spaces to start or scale up their business projects”, reads the documentation published on the regional recruitment portal.

To do this, the winning bidder will have to lobby, identifying opinion makers and prescribers "with the aim of improving the image and positioning of the Community of Madrid as a destination for foreign investment";

organize different events in the markets of interest;

and build an ambitious network of contacts.

‼ @Santi_ABASCAL on Ayuso's proposal so that foreign billionaires can buy property in Spain under better tax conditions than Spaniards.

"We will say no, and there will be no political or radio pressure to make us change our position."

pic.twitter.com/GkCcHhtX0t

– VOX 🇪🇸 (@vox_es) February 24, 2023

"The agents will be in the three countries, they are companies specialized in the matter," explains a government spokesman.

In the government they assure that this initiative has nothing to do with the future of the tax incentive.

Madrid is the region that attracts the most foreign investment in Spain, a statistic that is favored by the so-called

: the Foreign Investment Registry (RIE) attributes to the Community initiatives that crystallize in other regions because the headquarters of the companies that promote them are based in the capital.

Even so, foreign investment is a key piece in the puzzle of the Madrid economy, which is the one that contributes the most to the national GDP.

In this way, the average annual foreign investment in the Community of Madrid is around 15,000 million euros, and generates an impact on GDP of 13,200 million, more than 186,700 jobs and more than 700 million in tax collection, according to documentation. official.

"Interest in Madrid is skyrocketing more than ever outside our borders, and it is something we have to take advantage of," the regional president said this Friday, who in recent months has traveled to the United States, Israel or the United Kingdom, without any investment being known yet as a result of these trips, which he will extend next week with a visit to Rome as part of a Madrid delegation that will receive Pope Francis.

What problem does the Díaz Ayuso government have now?

Well, a fairly important one, and with consequences for the present and the future.

Vox spokesperson in the Assembly and candidate for the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, Rocío Monasterio, in the Madrid Assembly. Fernando Sánchez (Europa Press)

With the municipal and regional elections on May 28 as a backdrop, the regional government council approved in February a tax bonus so that taxpayers who bring their assets from abroad can save 245 million euros, according to the official documentation of the project. .

The regional president wants anyone who has not lived in Spain in the last five years and wants to settle in the region to be able to deduct 20% of the total amount invested in their income statement.

The deduction may be applied in the year in which the investment occurs or in the five following years.

But the approval of that bonus depends on Vox, which would have to support it in the Madrid Assembly.

And the extreme right is not for the job, at least for the moment, which has forced the PP to delay the vote while it tries to convince it.

They are the consequences of a broken relationship for multiple reasons: the farce that led to the 2023 Budget not being approved;

the personal disagreement between Díaz Ayuso and Rocío Monasterio, the leader of the extreme right in Madrid;

and the proximity of the elections, which naturally stresses the relationship of two parties that are both parliamentary partners and electoral rivals.

For this reason, in the meantime, the government of Díaz Ayuso is making progress: within the

project , the Government wants to hire, through the Madrid Foundation for Competitiveness, agents to identify, attract and attract foreign investment from the United States , UK and France.

"The information and advice can be provided by any of the following modalities: face-to-face, by telephone and by email", it is detailed in the contract documentation, where it is even stated that the agents will have a maximum of 72 hours to advise potential companies. interested in moving to Madrid.

"The winning company will organize an act to present the economic space of the Community of Madrid aimed at the main economic agents located in the metropolitan area of ​​the city where said Office is established," he continues.

"Once the event is over, both registered and attendees will be monitored (...)", he adds.

And he claims: "After that, the contractor will identify those companies whose potential presence in the Community of Madrid is considered viable,

In addition to this presentation act, the successful bidder will have to organize another two throughout the year of the contract, which will be extendable for one more.

It will commit to a minimum of ten meetings between potential investors interested in settling in the Community of Madrid.

And it will coordinate prospecting trips to the Community of Madrid for qualified clients with decision-making capacity of at least two investment companies.

Everything, so that foreign money continues to arrive in Madrid.

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