Spain plans temporary wealth tax amid high inflation

International

-DW News

Madrid,
Sep
23:
Spain’s
left-wing
government
said
it
would
slap
a
temporary
tax
on
the
wealthiest
1%
of
the
country’s
population
to
help
pay
for
inflation
relief
measures.

“We
are
talking
about
millionaires,
those
who
are
in
the
1%
of
income,”
Finance
Minister
Maria
Jesus
Montero
told
the
laSexta
television
channel
on
Thursday.

She
said
it
was
important
that
“we
can
finance
the
aid”
to
support
“the
middle
class
and
workers”
but
did
not
provide
details
on
the
tax
rate
or
how
much
it
would
raise.

The
government
has
introduced
a
raft
of
measures
to
help
people
cope
with
soaring
prices,
such
as
free
public
transport,
stipends
for
students
to
stay
in
school
and
subsidized
petrol.

France
could
‘examine’
gas
link
from
Spain
to
Germany

The
country’s
annual
inflation
rate
hit
10.4%
in
August.
It
has
remained
in
double
digits
since
June,
a
level
not
seen
since
the
mid-1980s.

Spain
already
targeting
banks
and
energy
firms

In
July,
the
government
introduced
a
bill
to
create
a
temporary
levy
on
banks
and
large
energy
companies.

“We
are
going
to
use
a
similar
scheme
to
that
for
energy
companies
and
banking.
For
the
next
two
years…the
big
fortunes
of
this
country
will
be
asked
to
make
a
temporary
effort,” Montero
said
on
Thursday.

How
Spain
is
coping
with
the
heat

She
still
has
to
negotiate
the
plan
with
her
Socialist
party’s
coalition
partner
Unidas
Podemos
and
acknowledged
that
parliamentary
approval
procedures
mean
it
might
not
be
ready
by
the
start
of
2023.

Source: DW