Catalonia calculates fiscal deficit at €22bn in 2021, 9.6% of GDP
Finance minister criticizes Spain for "sustained, unfair and deliberate financial suffocation"
Catalonia's department of economy and finance has calculated that the deficit between what it contributes to the Spanish purse and the quantity invested back in Catalonia stood at €21.982 billion in 2021, equivalent to 9.6% of the GDP.
This is a historic high after in the previous years the deficit was €20.203 billion in 2019 (8.5% of GDP) and €20.772 million (9.8%) in 2020.
The Catalan government contributed 19.2% of the income taken in by Spain, while it only received 13.6% of the investment expenditure.
The minister of finance, Natàlia Mas Guix, criticized the "sustained, unfair and deliberate financial suffocation" caused by an "expired" financing system, upon presenting the figures in a press conference on Monday.
She explained that this deficit represents around 50% of the Catalan government's budget.
Catalonia calculates that, per capita, €2,831 less is spent on residents of Catalonia and, according to the minister, this represents a "loss of resources" that affects everything from health care to education.
She said that the current financial model leads to "far too much" solidarity between regions while basic services in Catalonia are left to suffer. "Fair treatment must be demanded," Guix said, who also described the figures as "scandalous."