Today, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain approved a renewal of the Economic Agreement for the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country which involves the transfer of three new taxes, the “Tobin tax”, the “Google tax”, and the OSS VAT. The goal of this update to the legal text is to have the Basque tax agencies collect them, in line with their powers.
This legal modification, as on earlier occasions, was voted on in Congress with only one read-through and no possibility for amendments, as is appropriate for a bill born out of the agreement of the parties negotiating it as equals. This is because, as bitter a pill as it may be to swallow by those who have a “reductionist” view of what the State is, in this negotiation were four tax agencies.
Soon, the same will happen with the Economic Agreement that regulates the tax relationship between Navarre and Spain.
As always, whenever this happens, we’ll have to listen to the typical empty slogans, and outright lies, of the Spanish centrist nationalists.
And that is why we’re bringing back an article we wrote six years ago, which quite unfortunately hasn’t gone out of date. Sill there are those who refuse to accept that there are five tax agencies in Spain, backed up by history, the Spanish Constitution, the European Union, and, most importantly, by the overwhelming popular support of Basque citizens.
And that doesn’t prove our insolidarity, or that we’re privileged. We are what we have been for centuries, and what we’ve been able to preserve despite the numerous attempts to end our self-governance. The Economic Agreements are the clearest proof of that ability to self-govern, of sovereignty, that we in the lower Basque Country have been able to keep.
We’re all adults, and if other territories would like the same, they can give it a try. We’d love for them to.
Here’s what we wrote a few years ago, which, as we said, has unfortunately not gone out of date.
Lies and falsehoods about the Basque Economic Agreement, and two places to learn more
Last Updated on Dec 23, 2021 by About Basque Country
