On Friday 20 March, the Spanish Council of Ministers unveiled a package of 80 measures that will mobilise €5 billion to help Spanish households and businesses cope with the economic consequences of the war triggered by the attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.
“Extraordinary situations require extraordinary responses”, declared the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, as he presented the “most important economic and social shield” ever adopted by a Member State of the European Union.
This package of measures includes:
- lower energy taxation;
- a 60% reduction in taxes on electricity, by cutting VAT from 21% to 10%, reducing the special tax on electricity (IEE) to 0.5% and temporarily suspending the tax on the value of electricity production (IVPEE);
- a 1% reduction in VAT on natural gas, pellets and firewood;
- a freeze on the maximum selling price of butane and propane;
- a reduction of up to 30 centimes per litre of fuel, through a reduction in VAT to 10% on diesel, petrol and other hydrocarbons, as well as a reduction in tax on hydrocarbons to the minimum level authorised in the EU;
- the extension until the end of 2026 of the exceptional reductions in the social electricity tariff, the strengthening of the social heating tariff and the ban on cutting off essential supplies to the most vulnerable households;
- an 80% reduction in electricity charges for energy-intensive industry (savings of €200 million);
- aid of 20 centimes per litre of fuel for hauliers, farmers, livestock farmers and fisheries; equivalent support for the purchase of fertilisers is also planned;
- greater legal flexibility with regard to energy supply contracts for businesses and the self-employed.
Another line of action includes structural measures to promote the electrification of the economy and energy sovereignty, with tax deductions for the installation of solar panels, charging stations and heat pumps, as well as new subsidies for the air conditioning of buildings and the promotion of investments in renewable energies.
It should also be noted that the Spanish government would like to see a temporary freeze on rents, similar to that applied during previous crises. This measure requires the approval of the national Parliament.
For further information: https://aeur.eu/f/lah (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)