La Balança fiscal de Catalunya amb l'Administració central

Resum

The fiscal flow between Catalonia and the central government are analysed in detail in this award winning study as explained in the acceptance speech. The fiscal deficit of Catalonia was 1.3% trillion pesetas in 1998 (around $60 billion), 8.37% of Catalan GNP or 216,581 pesetas ($1,200) per inhabitant. Catalans pay on average 20% of Spanish taxes but receive only 15% of expenditure. This contrasts with a positive balance of 6,121 pesetas per inhabitant for the rest of Spain. Catalonia receives from the central government 75% of taxes paid while the rest of Spain gets back a bit more than parity: Madrid gravely distorts statistics because it centralizes bit firms who pay taxes there. There are also the distortions caused from varying tax compliance in the different Spanish regions. This study has been possible because the central government has been willing to provide tax information but the problems with the fiscal imbalance are now political and not technical in nature.