CATALONIA -- Josep Gonzàlez (PIMEC): "We say 'Enough!' The only thing that's growing is taxes" - VilaWeb

Josep Gonzàlez (PIMEC): "We say 'Enough!' The only thing that's growing is taxes" - VilaWeb

Josep Gonzàlez (PIMEC): "We say 'Enough!' The only thing that's growing is taxes"

Interview with the president of the Catalan Small and Medium Enterprises Association (PIMEC)

 

Entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises can't do anymore.
Rising energy and social security costs, lack of credit, elimination of
government subsidies, etc. are some of the recent measures, most of
which have been promoted by the Spanish government, that have made the
business leaders decide to stand their ground. Tomorrow, PIMEC, the
Catalan small and medium-size business association will fill the Palau
de Congressos exhibition hall in Barcelona with an event titled 'We say
Enough!'. The event has received all kinds of support, from within and
from outside of Catalonia, to complain that the governments have
forgotten the SMEs and caused many to disappear. The president of the
business association, José González, exclaimed “If small and medium
businesses disappear, you can tell me how we're going to get out of this
financial crisis.” And he recalls that, especially in Catalonia, where
SMEs traditionally are responsible for a large proportion of business
and employment, the SME network is crucial.

In this interview,
Gonzalez describes the demands of employers and explains that the event
tomorrow will not be just a protest against the Spanish government, but
also against the Catalan government. "It's true that if we look at the
whole series of measures that have led to this action, most of them are
under the jurisdiction of the government in Madrid. But for example the
tax burden is much higher in Catalonia than in the rest of the state."
For Gonzàlez, the recovery for small and medium enterprises is still far
off, but it is also essential for reviving the economy, which will
benefit everyone. That's why he feels hurt every time the Spanish
president says there is economic growth. "The only thing that's growing
is taxes. That is really obvious."

—Is the event tomorrow like slamming a fist on the table?
—Yes.
Because recent measures they've undertaken have greatly harmed SMEs and
the self-employed. The clearest and most delicate example is the rising
cost of social security. Lately we've had a rise in the cost basis of
5%, and we've begun to contribute for things we never did before, which
also increases prices. And some months ago, they cancelled all of the
subsidies for contracting older workers (60 years plus) or for people
with particular disabilities. And on top of all of that, there is the
rise of the VAT tax, which when it was implemented, was accompanied by a
promise that contributions to social security would decrease. Now we
see that that was a lie.

—According to your website, the situation is at a critical point and has gotten more complicated for several reasons…
—It's
an accumulation of things, and again, the straw that broke the camel's
back is the 5% rise in contributions. But it's true that all of that is
also accompanied by the cost of energy, which continues to rise. We have
the highest kilowatt price in Europe, not to mention the tax on
self-generated energy, which discourages many companies from producing
their own energy because it's simply not cost effective to do so. In
addition, they say that they'll loosen up credit and the truth is that
credit hasn't budged for six years. That is, there is little credit, and
it incurs high costs and requires personal and family collateral on
loans. And you also have to keep the tax burden in mind, which over the
past two years has continued to rise. This has made people really
indignant because now they're saying that things are going well or
starting to go well and it's just not true. Sure, sure, they're going
well, but they're making it very expensive for me, and causing my
company’s margins to fall.

—If nothing changes soon, what will happen?
—Well,
more companies will die. We have an extremely high mortality rate among
SMEs as well as a very high number of companies that are in bankruptcy,
while the self-employed are closing up shop. And I'm talking about
official, well-documented data. And if the small and medium enterprises
go, you can tell me how we're going to make it out of the financial
crisis.

—Which government is responsible for this situation? That is, who are you protesting against?
—It
is a cry of protest against both governments, Catalan and Spanish, in
different proportions, of course. It is true that if we look at the
whole series of measures that have led to this action, the government in
Madrid is responsible for most of them. But for example, the tax burden
is much higher in Catalonia than in the rest of the state. The event is
not just against one government but rather is against both.

—But due to the industrial structure in Spain, small and medium enterprises play a particularly crucial role in Catalonia…
—Absolutely,
yes. In Catalonia SMEs are our core business, we have a powerful SME
structure. But it must also be said that most of the measures that
affect us also affect most regions of Spain. And the proof is that we
have received support from companies and employers from outside
Catalonia: ATA Unipime…

—The crisis has struck SMEs but also many other sectors...
What concrete actions are you asking most urgently from the governments?
—Here's
a very graphic example. Since the financial crisis began, credit for
SMEs and the self-employed has fallen almost to zero. But if we analyze
the data, we see that both local and regional authorities have received
more credit than ever, because they needed it and so they have received
it. These are official figures, ok? Large companies are the same way,
according to the Bank of Spain. The banks have received almost fifty
billion in bailouts because they needed it. Well, according to
additional data from the Bank of Spain, who did not receive credit and
whose credit has plummeted? SMEs and the self-employed. The feeling is
that we are "the last in line' and this is a good explanation for the
"We say Enough!" campaign and the indignation. We're sick of it, because
afterwards they wax poetic about how the SMEs generate the most jobs,
employ the most people, etc. Yes, but they're leaving us out in the
cold, without keeping in mind that we are fundamental for reviving the
economy. Wednesday we will make a very well documented case with very
concrete suggestions. But our message now is: "You've forgotten about
the SMEs and therefore you've broken the social contract that existed
between government and SMEs." And that makes the financial crisis worse.

—In the last several hours, there has been a huge increase in support for the event. Were you expecting it?
Yes, it's no surprise. People are very tired. We knew that we would fill the Palau exhibition hall.

—One of the most recent supporters is the Cercle Català de
Negocis (Catalan Business Circle) which adds that the only way out of
this situation is independence…
—We're not going to get into
that, nor do we make that same interpretation. For a very simple
reason: here we have enough business-related motives to protest against
both governments. The special situation that Catalonia is going through
right now should not be mixed in. Right now we have laws, some
directives, taxes and funding which depend on both Catalonia and Madrid.
Is there some other ideal system? Well, OK, we're certainly not against
it. At the time we said that we were supporters of the right to decide,
but now is not the time to mix things. If we end up summarizing that
Catalonia on its own would do everything better, there wouldn't be
anything left to solve. Meanwhile, what? We shouldn't say anything? Time
right now is against us. In addition, if this independence arrives,
many of the arguments that we defend now we'll have to defend then as
well. There is no guarantee that says that Catalonia on its own will do
any better.

—[Columbia Professor Xavier] Sala-i-Martin says, in fact,
that it's true that we have no guarantee, but he adds that at least we
have the opportunity to try it…
—Yes, agreed, but I'm not
getting into that. When we held the extraordinary board meeting, we
decided that this event was going to be just about business and
finances, and not about sovereignty. They are different phases. In this
event we want to make it clear that if nothing is done now, more
companies will fail very soon, and there will be no recovery. That is,
if we do not help the SMEs, no one will make it out of the financial
crisis. And when I hear that Rajoy says there is growth, I say yes,
growth in taxes and charges. The only thing that's growing is taxes.
This is really obvious.

 

Josep Gonzàlez, PIMEC president