Government calculating a one-third increase in revenue from fines

Finance minister, Catalina Cladera. | Joan Torres

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma07/12/2015 00:00

The Balearic government anticipates that its citizens will be paying it 33,053 euros per day in the form of fines and penalties next year and will be doing so because of the likes of fishing in prohibited areas, not having a licence to trade, not observing retail opening hours, violating consumer standards and drawing water from unregulated wells. The 33,053 daily figure, more than most citizens earn in a year, will mean annual revenue of over 12 million euros, the figure entered into the 2016 budget for fines’ income to the government.

It is an amount which can be looked upon positively insofar as it pays for 350 teachers, but it is a figure that has gone up substantially from the budget calculation by the previous government for the current year. This was something over nine million, the equivalent of almost 25,000 per day. In 2016, therefore, the government is forecasting a 32% increase in its fines’ revenue.

It is from retailing/trading and fishing where two of the largest pots of penalties’ income are expected to be created. For the former, the predicted amount is set to shoot up in 2016 from 225,000 euros to 665,330, while fishing fines are due to double to 360,000. Meanwhile, the tourism ministry can look forward to receiving 20% more in 2016, its fines’ income rising to 736,260 euros.
The finance minister, Catalina Cladera, attributes this significant increase to the fact that the 2015 budget of the previous government had not been well drawn up. She says that in addition to greater vigilance (and so greater fines), the government is taking account of penalties from sanctions that were levied in 2014. She adds that the amounts included in the 2016 budget are more in line with actual revenue than the last government’s were.

In only one area is a major drop in fines being calculated, and that is transport. This year’s budget estimated this revenue stream to be almost six million. Next year it will be 1,260,680 euros.