Sign in/Register
Looking for the Professionals/Advertiser Login?
By Signing up you are agreeing with our Terms and Privacy Policy.Forgot your password?
Feedback is welcome
Approved in 2012 within months of current president Mariano Rajoy getting into power, the amnesty allowed anyone who had evaded tax payments of €100,000 or more in the previous four years to settle the debt by handing over 10% of their income during that time, and no questions asked.
No other penalties, fines or investigations would be involved, even when the knowingly-unpaid tax ran into millions.
Yet law-abiding taxpayers were having to pay 43%.
An appeal to the Constitutional Court was filed by 50 socialist MPs, who considered it merely a way of getting fraudsters off the hook.
Among the top-ranking political figures and businessmen who took advantage of the tax amnesty were former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas, ex-economy minister for the PP and former International Monetary Fund (FMI) chairman Rodrigo Rato, and Diego Torres who, along with the King's brother-in-law Iñaki Urdangarín is facing jail for a multi-million public fund embezzlement racket.
Former secretary-general for the PP in Madrid, Francisco Granados, and his ex-business partner David Marjaliza – both under investigation for a major corruption scandal – also signed up to the amnesty.
In total, about 30,000 Spaniards took advantage of the scheme.
The Constitutional Court has not only upheld the socialists' appeal, but has subjected the PP to extremely harsh criticism for allowing the amnesty to take place at all.
“This process supposed the State's total abdication of its duty to ensure everybody's obligation to participate in sustaining public funds is brought into effect,” the verdict stated.
The amnesty offered a 'valid option' to those who, 'in a manner lacking in solidarity, failed in their duty' to pay taxes 'in accordance with their financial capacity' by 'placing them in a more favourable situation' than that of those who voluntarily complied with their tax payment obligations within the required timescale.
The entire process violates Article 86.1 of the Constitution, which prohibits the use of any legal instrument which affects 'in a relevant and substantial manner' the duties and obligations of residents.
Although the PP claimed the amnesty was to increase available public funds, the Court says this was no excuse.
If the result means 'rendering a break with justice legitimate' to reach it, then it is not permitted, according to the verdict.
The judge stressed that the obligation to participate in maintaining public funds applies to every resident and is stipulated in Article 31 of the Constitution, meaning it cannot be altered by legislation as the Magna Carta always takes precedence.
Spain's main two left-wing parties, the socialists and Podemos, have called for treasury minister Cristóbal Montoro to resign, since he was the brains behind the tax amnesty.
The PP says it will 'respect and comply with' the Constitutional Court's decision.
NEW legislation aiming to protect the public from telephone scams and cold-calling is under construction, and will attempt to attack it at source by tightening up on commercial use of customers' personal data.
INTEREST rates in the Eurozone could fall to 2.5% next year, having closed August 2024 on 3.75%, according to latest research.
GRANTS of up to €250 are available this year for replacing older air-conditioning units in a bid to encourage greater energy efficiency.
TWO of Spain's largest high-street banks are reported to be in merger talks, potentially resulting in the joint entity being the second-biggest in the country in terms of share capital.