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Spain Business Brief - Saturday August 28 2010
Minister for Tax and the Economy, Elena Salgado, has said that the impact of any new tax on the rich would be ‘scant’. She said that the Government has a month to finalise the idea which she said would not affect the middle class in any way.
Salgado also made it clear that the idea of extended the number of years of employment used for the calculation of the state pension to 20 remained only ‘a suggestion’. Pension reform, which was expected in September, is now not going to take place until the end of the year.
The General Secretary of the CCOO trade union, Ignacio Fernández Toxo, has said that he thinks the Government has rejected the idea of any more direct tax increases, but thinks that more increases in indirect taxes are on the way. He said he considered that would be the strategy as it would not affect take home pay.
Iberia airlines have moved into profit according to the numbers for the second quarter of the year. It comes after cost-cutting in the company and an increase in demand. Net profit for the quarter was 31 million € and comes after six previous quarters in the red. Impact from the dust from the Icelandic volcano has been estimated by the airline at 20 million €.
RENFE Spanish Railways has decided to stop its last minute AVE high speed train discounts. The company said it was simply the end of the promotion which had never been one of their fixed discounts.
It had offered last minute travellers discounts of up to 50%, and has been removed because the company has considered it not to be ‘commercially interesting’. Other discounts on the web, Tarifa Web and Tarifa Estrella remain in place.
Small shopkeeper sales have fallen again and are down 2.2% in annual terms according to the latest numbers for July. Only supermarkets saw sales growth, up 4.3% on July last year, according to the National Statistics Institute.
Constructors have welcomed the news that 700 million € worth of public works and not the previously announced 500 million have escaped the public spending cuts. Minister for Development, José Blanco, said that 49 large construction projects would continue as a result. Most of those to benefit are in Andalucía and Cataluña, and the PP controlled regions have complained of being ignored by the minister.
And finally,
Spending by tourists in Spain in July was up 3.7% on the number for the same month last year. The EGATUR survey into tourist spending, published by the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Trade, showed international visitors spent 6.334 billion € in Spain in June. For the year to June however the spend is only 0.9% higher.
Salgado also made it clear that the idea of extended the number of years of employment used for the calculation of the state pension to 20 remained only ‘a suggestion’. Pension reform, which was expected in September, is now not going to take place until the end of the year.
The General Secretary of the CCOO trade union, Ignacio Fernández Toxo, has said that he thinks the Government has rejected the idea of any more direct tax increases, but thinks that more increases in indirect taxes are on the way. He said he considered that would be the strategy as it would not affect take home pay.
Iberia airlines have moved into profit according to the numbers for the second quarter of the year. It comes after cost-cutting in the company and an increase in demand. Net profit for the quarter was 31 million € and comes after six previous quarters in the red. Impact from the dust from the Icelandic volcano has been estimated by the airline at 20 million €.
RENFE Spanish Railways has decided to stop its last minute AVE high speed train discounts. The company said it was simply the end of the promotion which had never been one of their fixed discounts.
It had offered last minute travellers discounts of up to 50%, and has been removed because the company has considered it not to be ‘commercially interesting’. Other discounts on the web, Tarifa Web and Tarifa Estrella remain in place.
Small shopkeeper sales have fallen again and are down 2.2% in annual terms according to the latest numbers for July. Only supermarkets saw sales growth, up 4.3% on July last year, according to the National Statistics Institute.
Constructors have welcomed the news that 700 million € worth of public works and not the previously announced 500 million have escaped the public spending cuts. Minister for Development, José Blanco, said that 49 large construction projects would continue as a result. Most of those to benefit are in Andalucía and Cataluña, and the PP controlled regions have complained of being ignored by the minister.
And finally,
Spending by tourists in Spain in July was up 3.7% on the number for the same month last year. The EGATUR survey into tourist spending, published by the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Trade, showed international visitors spent 6.334 billion € in Spain in June. For the year to June however the spend is only 0.9% higher.
(You can find a photo for this story at Typically Spanish - Click here)