“This is something for the duration of the legislature, without a deadline“. The acting Minister of Finance and deputy general secretary of the PSOE, María Jesús Montero, recognized this Wednesday that the elimination of short flights in favor of the train agreed by PSOE and Sumar in their Government program is a very incipient measure, which can barely be applied at the moment and that everything depends on a notable improvement in the quality of rail connections.
“Those journeys that are covered by rail on itineraries that last less than two and a half hours will progressively encourage the use of rail and, therefore, reducing flights, which are more polluting,” Montero explained in an interview on Cadena Be. But this “It involves ensuring the development of a railway network that is comfortable and reliable for citizens. That means schedule and punctuality,” she explained.
In this way, the minister has made it clear that the measure is more of a declaration of intentions than an action that can be applied in the short term. And, furthermore, she has stressed that what was signed by the acting president, Pedro Sánchez, and the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, “talks about gradual reduction, not elimination“.
The document signed by PSOE and Sumar also contemplates the extension of taxes on banking and electricity, which for now are temporary. Montero has been very satisfied with these figures, which have generated rejection and complaints from the affected companies. And, furthermore, the Minister of Finance has announced that Both taxes will contribute 2.9 billion this year.
Specifically, according to Treasury data, the second payment of both levies, made in September, reached 1,453 million euros, a figure very similar to that of the first payment, made in February. Of this amount, 827 million corresponded to the energy tax and 626 million to the banking tax, Europa Press reports.