The REF platform calls for more pressure on Madrid
From left to right, Orlando Luján, Agustín Manrique de Lara and Alcibiades Trancho. /
The Círculo de Empresarios proposes involving civil society "as happened with the ULPGC" in defense of the Canarian jurisdiction
The REF defense platform calls on the Government of the Canary Islands to exercise
"more pressure" in defense of the fueros of the archipelago.
The Manifesto regarding the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime considers it necessary that the Ministry of Finance
update and change to adapt it to circumstances such as the pandemic, the eruption of the La Palma volcano or the consequences of the war in Ukraine, but it also specifies that they clarify doubts "that do not require any regulatory change" and that it is essential to give legal certainty to businessmen and that the REF «does not look devalued».
Alcibiades Trancho, Dean of the
College of Economists of Las Palmas; Orlando Luján, delegate of the
Study Office of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors and Agustín Manrique de Lara, president of the
Circle of businessmen of Gran Canaria -entity that yesterday joined the Manifesto-, claimed the REF as a tool "that allows the archipelago to keep pace with other regions" and they were willing to
“raise the intensity” of your claims after two years waiting for measures to be applied to improve it without responses from the Ministry of Finance.
Entrepreneurs, they insisted, "cannot be at the mercy" of the changes introduced by the different governments because the
companies need certainty and security, and the rules must be clear. Instead, they receive "the silence for an answer."
Silence
In this sense, they indicated that they have not found an echo in their intention to meet with the
Secretary of State for Financepalmero Oscar Izquierdo, who has been asking for an interview for two months.
They also considered "unfortunate" and "striking" that the Government of the Canary Islands has not received a response in this regard either. In this regard, Luján highlighted that «
it is more difficult for the REF to be understood in Madrid than in Brussels».
For this reason, and although they want to keep the tone "peaceful and orderly but without complexes", said Manrique de Lara, "it is time to demand these improvements in the REF with
more forceful», also involving the media, social agents and civil society «as happened with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria», he said «because the situation is urgent».
In the opinion of the promoters of this platform, many of the pending issues could be resolved immediately "if there was political will."
Respect the jurisdiction
Both Agustín Manrique de Lara and Albiciades Trancho and Orlando Luján emphasized that the Canary Islands
"Doesn't want to pay less than his fair share"but they insisted that the reality is that "we must fight for our jurisdiction to be respected as if we were asking for a reduction."
In his opinion, some of the changes introduced by the Spanish government, such as the change in criteria regarding triangular trade in the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC), is causing a
“reputational damage” to the REF that needs to be counteracted.
REF Office
The president of the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs (CCE) and the Circle of Entrepreneurs of Gran Canaria,
Agustin Manrique de Larainsisted yesterday on the need to have
"an office or commissioner" of the REF in the structure of the Government of the Canary Islands that works "stably" and that has at its disposal the "best officials" who work with "all governments".
In this sense, from the Association of Tax Advisors,
Orlando Lujan He indicated that “it is striking that an autonomous community that has a budget of 9,000 million euros does not have a REF monitoring team” that warns of the risks and that works directly with the Ministry when differences occur.
From the Círculo de Empresarios, said Manrique de Lara, the
"disconnection" that has occurred between the REF and Canarian society and recalled that next July will be 50 years since it was approved and allows the canaries "not to live subsidized."
From this platform, intense work has been carried out for five months to publicize the REF "because not enough is known and
what is not known is not defended», pointed out the dean of the College of Economists of Las Palmas,
Alcibiades Trancho.
