Newsletter N.

46

13/01/2012

SI presents the Own State Budget

Successful presentation in Barcelona of the Own State Budget

Large crowds attended the first public presentation of the Catalan State figures organized by SI, being the beginning of a series of events to be held throughout Catalonia With this event Catalan Solidarity for the Independence (SI) initiated this evening at the l'Hotel AB Viladomat de Barcelona a series of public presentations to be held in forthcoming weeks throughout Catalonia with the aim of spreading the alternative made to the autonomy calculations: the Own State Budget. Before a large audience, more than one hundred people, Uriel Bertran, SI general secretary and deputy at the Parliament and Jaume Argerich, economy professor at IESE, compared the independence figures with the autonomy budget by Minister Mas-Collel. Uriel Bertran emphasized that this is the second time they present this alternative budget to the Parliament, so as to not being more the autonomous Catalonia and show the scenario we will have after achieving our own state. He stated that, "we want to draw the future scenario that our country needs and establish the negative effects to Catalonia given by the facts that Catalonia is only collecting 4,65% of taxes generated in its territory, and so it suffers a fiscal robbery amounting to 20,650 million ". To Bertran, this causes economic decrease and recession, taxes increase, and so "a loss of resources, impairing the recovery from crisis". Bertran stated that until a deep change in Catalan politics will take place, both debt and deficit evolution will cause a scenario where the resources allocated by the Generalitat to pay debt interest will exceed the resources allocated to the Business and Employment Department".

Bertran pleaded for a change in the paradigm, by means of the independence, against the autonomous budged, fictitious and based in mistaken hypothesis. Some of the benefits enumerated by him are the following: to put an end to the fiscal plundering by the Spanish State, to allocate 20,650 million euros to the economy and welfare of Catalan people; to allocate a 5% of GDP to investments and to hold back the debt increase redressing a deficit zero budged. As a result, Catalan public sector will be, after one year term, among the most streamlined in Europe. Bertran also stated that Catalan Social Security would get a surplus amounting to 2,500 million Euros, and so pensions could be increased, having also a specific reserve fund.

Later, IESE economist, Jaume Argerich stressed that the autonomy Budget is a budget without any financial autonomy, and warned that the Public Treasury of the Catalonia is at serious risk of bankruptcy, which will occur about September 2012 as per his calculations. Mr. Argerich explained that a bridging loan coming from Madrid will make lighter this situation, in return for CiU not causing any inconvenience to the Popular Party. To Mr. Argerich, CIU has its hand and foot bounded, because if they try to stand up to Madrid, the Popular Party will leave them with zero resources in cash and they will not be able to pay the salary to the Catalan Government employees. Lastly, Argerich emphasized that without the plundering, Catalan public sector would have a surplus of 7%, comparable to Norway, this country having oil fields.

Uriel Bertran at morning TV program Els matins de TV3

Uriel Bertran has been the interviewee person at the program Els Matins de TV3 conducted by the journalist Ariadna Oltra. He began his speech charging at CiU as "we do not understand the affirmative vote of Convergncia i Uni to Mariano Rajoys adjustments, neither Solidaritat nor any Catalan understand it. In fact, President Artur Mas stated that these measures to be implemented by Rajoy, taxes increases, including the income tax, will involve economic asphyxia for Catalonia, and next day they voted the economic asphyxia of Catalonia in Madrid". Nevertheless, Uriel Bertran reminds that one year ago CiU was standing for the election claiming for the right to decide, the national transition, facing Spanish Government...: This was the project that Artur Mas assure to defend and one year later, CiU is not for this project". Uriel Bertran took this opportunity to present the campaign #Spainisrobbingus justifying it as "the Spanish State is robbing us 20,000 million euros from all the taxes paid by Catalan people. Catalonia is a country with enormous potential, he states. According to the deputy, "we must choose between to defend a free country or to go on underpinning a Popular Party responsible for our yearly loss of 20,000 million euros and for increasing taxes." SI general secretary announced that "we have calculated that from the 20,000 million euros that we would recover, we should allocate, 4.000 million to create the state structures (embassies, central bank, constitutional court...) and has demanded political courage to CiU as "for the Spanish State the impoverishment of Catalonia, the fact that it loses importance and force is good, because then is Madrid who gains it all." Finally, the pro-independence deputy reminded that the Generalitat Budget will led us to a very complicated situation, because increasing taxes and cuttings will cause more

economic crisis and he accused the Catalan Government of lying: they said that this cuttings would cause stillness at international markets, and this did not occur." So, Catalan Solidarity for the Independence has challenged Oriol Pujol, as yesterday he claimed the opposition to present an alternative budget: "here you are" he stressed.

SI meets CiU challenge with the Own State Budget

Uriel Bertran announced that they will go on presenting it until the Parliament be brave enough to pass them. This morning he presented at the Catalan Parliament the Own State Budget and he warned that they will go on presenting them until the Parliament be brave enough and drop out the autonomy budget which is impoverishing the country. Si deputy urged the Parliament to have bravery and courage to pass a budget that, according to him, would allow recovering 20,650 million euros that Spain is stealing from us. In this way, Uriel Bertran has challenged Oriol Pujol and President Mas, who asked if anybody had a better Budget that the one presented by the Government. Solidaritat has faced the Government challenge because we have a better project that the Government cutting and plundering budget: our alternative Own State Budget. SI deputy stated that the Popular Party has took the small Catalan autonomy away, as currently the Catalan Government lost the control over its income and Spain will control the expenses. He also explained that the aim of SI is to create an exciting and optimistic scenario so as to initiate the process towards the Independence, giving up with the fiscal plundering from Spain and the serious attacks to our language and institutions, and to be able to live as normal. Presentaci dels Pressupostos de l'Estat propi 2012 Pressupostos de lEstat Propi Uriel Bertran als Matins de TV3 (12-01-12) Els pressupostos de l'Estat Propi al TN de TV3

Catalunya News
Edita: Relacions Poltiques Internacionals de SI
Conxita Bosch Blandine Giraud Toms Callau Jordi Mir Ada Vidal (Traducci) Eugnia Bentanachs (Traducci) Carles Quintana (Fotografia)

Relacions Poltiques Internacionals de Solidaritat Catalana per la Independncia

relacionspolitiquesinternacional@solidaritatcatalana.cat http://www.solidaritatcatalana.cat/