This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Expertos en fiscalidad denuncian las contradicciones de la política fiscal sobre la eólica

They ask besides to the Government that sort out in this subject

Experts in fiscalidad report the contradictions of the fiscal politics on the wind

Editorial Interempresas05/11/2012

5 November 2012

The experts in fiscalidad gathered in the day ‘Imposed autonomic and venues to the wind power', organised by the Wind Business Association (AEE) and the Spanish Club of the Power (Enerclub), reported the incoherencias and contradictions of the Spanish fiscal politics on the wind and the adverse effects on the sector. The speakers coincided in aleatherg to the Government that sort out in the autonomic fiscal chaos and local, and that follow the European guidelines in the matter.

The wind is one of the technologies generadoras of electricity that more imposed bears in Spain. To the common fiscal loads to the other types of power (tax on the electricity, imposed on societies, Imposed of Economic Activities…), it is necessary to add the autonomic taxles (included the environingingmental canons) and local (ICIO, BICES). To trial of the experts, this situation supposes a grave damage for the sector and hampers his competition with other technologies.

Juan Bachiller, general director of Enerclub, stood out how the high fiscalidad complicates the maintenance of the industrial fabric created by the wind sector in the last years. “Spain needs a mix energetic sustainable and balanced, but without leaving fall the industrial and international development”, said.

Rocío Sicre, president of AEE, affirmed that the wind in Spain bears already one of the fiscal loads more elevated of the countries of our surroundings and quoted any of the adverse effects that this represents: the split of the unit of market with the consequent damage for the operation of the system and the economy, and the distortion of the reward that perceives the wind and, therefore, of his competitiveness. “This supposes a penalty and a loss of confidence for the investments, that receive an inferior reward to the reasonable in the communities in which they exist these gravámenes”, signalled.

In reference to the Project of Law of Fiscal Measures of Energetic Sustainability, in processing in the Parliament, Sicre signalled that “we trust that the Government give a real and definite solution” to these problems, recover the confidence in the investments and reestablish the competitiveness.

Gonzalo Sáenz of Miera, director of Prospectiva Regulatoria of Iberdrola, launched a series of questions: they Are really environingingmental the taxles of the autonomous communities or merely recaudatorios? It is coherent to support a technology by his environingingmental qualities and at the same time tax it for that? it Goes the law in Spain in the same steering that in the rest of the European Union? “A fiscal reform very clear-cut can delete distortions and contribute to an economic and energetic system much more efficient”, indicated.

Luis María Cazorla, chair of Financial Right and Tributario and partner director of Cazorla Lawyers, reported that in Spain have “a fiscal politics ensimismada, strictly recaudatoria and that does not fulfil with the juridical legislation neither national neither community”. And it added that “if we review the local tributes, there are not disposals favorecedoras for the wind. The state has to react in front of this anarchic proliferation and falsely environingingmental. If it does not sort out in this grandísima contradiction, the consequences on the wind will be very appreciable”.

In this line, Óscar Arnedillo, director of the signature of quality consultancy Nera, ensured that the evil called environingingmental canons are not such and, besides, “damage the environingingment”. In his opinion, only there are two roads to avoid the harmful effect of these taxles and are or resarcir entirely to the wind generators by his payment, or delete them completely.

The application of the territorial supplements

Luis Jesús Sánchez de Tembleque, director of Electrical Power of the National Commission of the Power (CNE), split of the base that “it does not have felt that the consumers pay some premiums and him them apropien via tributes the autonomous communities”. Sánchez Tembleque explained that from the CNE did in 2011 a report in which it proposed apply the territorial supplements by autonomic regulations no homogéneas that they give place to extra costs (treats of supplements to the electrical price in communities with own taxles), that are foreseen in the article 17 of the Law of the Electrical Sector but that had not been never developed. Like consequence, the Government approved the Royal decree-law 20/2012, by which demands the autonomic application of these supplements, “what supposes an important qualitative jump”. Nevertheless, this norm still has not applied in any autonomous community.

Carmen Mateas, secretary of the Managerial Board of AEE and partner founder of Mateas Lawyers, deepened in this subject when affirming that these supplements have to impose “and cover the whole of the extra cost”.

Mateas, that remembered that from AEE have resorted the wind canons of Galicia and Castile-La Mancha while the Association of Promoters of Wind Power Castile and Leon (APECYL) has followed suit with the one of his community, ensured that there are doubts on the constitutionality of these tributes, in addition to a clear contradiction with the European politics, since “no only no incentivan, but desincentivan the wind installation”. Mateas Ensured that the proliferation of the autonomic taxles and venues on the wind will go in increase of form descontrolada “if it does not put a cortafuegos”. This supposes juridical inhygiene for the companies that invested in the communities before they applied these taxles, distorts the conditions of competition in the market and supposes a loss of competitiveness for the wind sector.

Since big part of the debates on the tributación autonomic arrive to the Constitutional Cutting because it puts in doubt his constitutionality, José Vicente Churches, manager of the Department Tributario of Garrigues, considers that there is one some need of change of the constitutional doctrine. In fact, Churches showed so only “moderately optimistic” on the success of the resources presented.

To trial of Miguel F. Alley, responsible of regulation of Autonomous Communities of Iberdrola, any of the current taxles fulfils the aims of what is an environingingmental tax, since they do not tax the broadcasts of CO₂, do not give fiscal advantages by not being contaminantes, and tax to renewable energies or no emisoras, between other things. Like consequence, “breaks the unit of market, transfer incomes between consumers of autonomous communities and cancels the capacity of the state to establish energetic politics”. In his opinion, “an environingingmental fiscal reform would have to substitute to the current chaos, command signals more suitable and go on the way of Europe”.

Eugenio García Tejerina, general secretary of Apecyl, showed cutting: the autonomous communities do bad use of the authority recaudatoria that confers them the State and in the current political debate on recentralización it would be necessary to reconsider autonomic competitions like the tributaria. Connoisseur at first hand of the case of Castile and Leon, García Tejerina ensured that imposed like the wind canon or the ecotasa of Castile and Leon (“that it is not echo neither is tax”) only serve to keep “a súper autonomic structure”.

José Manuel Rebolledo, fiscal director of Enel Green Power Spain, warned of the effect called that have these imposed community to community, with the consequent risk for the companies that have done his investments to twenty years seen.

José Ignacio Blond of Urquía, director of Blond of Urquía Lawyers, referred to the system tributario venue like ancient and descompensado, and ensured that it has to be reviewed.

Joaquín Suárez of Saro, director of the Service of Regulation and Competition of HC Power, referred precisely to sentences that on the ICIO have dictated in Castile and Leon. In fact, the Upper Cutting of Castile and Leon has not allowed to some city councils recalcular the settlement of the ICIO that pretended, protecting in the doctrine established by the High cutting, that expanded the coefficient of calculation.