Jason MoorePalma10/01/2018 00:00
TW
1

The Balearics never seem to get the right funding deal from the central administration in Madrid. There is an endless war of words but I must say that Balearic president Francina Armengol is probably right and the islands should get a better deal. The majority of taxes are paid direct to Madrid but it is always a case of one-way traffic. Money is needed locally to make improvements and this is one of the reasons why the tourist tax was introduced in the first place because the necessary funding was not available from the Madrid central administration. I can’t think of any occasion when the Balearics said that they were happy with their deal from Madrid.

Now, obviously the Balearics are an important cash cow for the central administration. The revenue from tourism is enormous and much of it goes straight to Madrid. Now, I do not believe that the islands can plead poverty. We are lucky enough to have one of the highest living standards in the country but we should get a fair deal. One of the reasons for the crisis in Catalonia was because the regional administration didn’t believe that they were getting a good deal and that money was being spent by Madrid elsewhere and not in Catalonia. The Spanish government has limited finances and there are other parts of the country which are not so lucky economically. But the central administration should at least make an attempt to ensure that the islands get a fair deal.