Junts per Catalunya repeatedly states that it has not had relations with the Government for half a year and that the talks between both parties are short-circuited. There are only sporadic contacts with Ernest Urtasun to try to unblock. But every crisis has its ups and downs. The Catalan independence party predicts a possible reunion with the Executive on account of a package of tax credits on housing. After having helped to overthrow the extension of rental prices that the Government intended (mainly the Sumar block), Junts defends the need to take care of citizens’ pockets with reductions in the income tax return of those who pay a mortgage or rent. “The deduction will be 15% of the amounts paid during the tax period,” maintains the formation in the Congress of Deputies, and it is confident of reaching an agreement with the Government. “They have realized that they have to do something because their housing policies do not work,” Junts sources maintain.
“A pact that is not executed is a broken agreement,” Carles Puigdemont alleged in October to justify that he, and by extension his party, had run out of patience due to the “non-compliance” of the PSOE. After having helped Pedro Sánchez’s investiture, Junts decided in the fall that it was in his best interest to become a martyrdom for the Executive. There is no intention to help the Government approve any proposal on its agenda. “We are not voting for them at all,” indicate sources from the independence party. The wear and tear that the PSOE may suffer, and the consequent reinforcement of electoral expectations for PP and Vox, is something that does not worry Junts, where the idea that a PSOE Government is “a lesser evil” for Catalonia is not convinced. A conviction that, on the other hand,
Despite the total rejection of reestablishing bridges with Pedro Sánchez, the Junts group in the Congress of Deputies does see a possibility of rapprochement to apply measures that give air to the suffocation suffered by housing prices. Junts defends the convenience of “creating a deduction that taxpayers may apply to the amounts paid during the tax period for the acquisition of their primary residence, as well as for amortization, interest and expenses derived from mortgage loans formalized for this purpose, including homes intended for rent as a primary residence.” And, on this point, the party affirms that the Government’s willingness to embrace the proposal has been detected.
In practice, the plan would mean a personal income tax deduction related to the payment of the mortgage or rental of the first home, and could also benefit those who have savings accounts linked to home purchase plans. The bonus limit sets a maximum annual base of 11,630 euros. “It would be an acceptable cost for the Government,” defends Junts, which is based on data from 2012, when there was a similar formula for tax deductions, to estimate the measure at just over 2.5 billion euros.
Two weeks ago, Junts, together with PP and Vox, extended the freeze on rental prices. Sumar had tried to lead that move to ease the consequences of the war in Iran for hundreds of thousands of tenants. He first pressured the PSOE to promote the decree and then sought the support of Junts to validate it. The seven votes that Junts controls in Congress were key to giving the green light to the measure.
That decision cost Junts harsh criticism. The deputy of the Comuns and Sumar, Gerardo Pisarello, for voting against the validation, accusing them of “not having even a minimum of humanity.” The ERC spokesperson in Congress Gabriel Rufián made an attack against Junts and pointed out, with names and surnames, the deputies of the group led by Míriam Nogueras, accusing them of moving only “for the money.”
Junts maintains that the circumstantial understanding with the Government is feasible because Pedro Sánchez has to find a way to present solutions to the pressing problem of housing prices and points out that the tax credit plan can serve this purpose. Puigdemont’s formation separates the agreements on this issue from the possibility that the Junts deputies could end up supporting, if presented again, the price of rents.
