The Spanish government has given in, and after many months of diehard resistance, is going to lower the VAT on face masks from 21 to 4 per cent, and thus, move away from the small pool of European countries that maintain such a high tax. Even so, and after many blunders and statements that had to be corrected several times, it has taken almost six months for the Sánchez administration to take note and move the item to the middle range of VAT, so that the tax charged will continue to be above that of Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands or Finland, which have it at zero, but below others such as France (5.5%), Portugal and Greece (both 6%). Given that masks are mandatory and that in addition to VAT the unit price will also be lowered, the cost of a disposable face mask will fall from 96 to 62 cents, roughly equivalent to a "buy two and get three" offer.
All this gives a slightly clearer insight into the Spanish finance minister's enraged statement of a few days ago that VAT could not be lowered because it would mean, and I quote verbatim, 1.6 billion euros less in taxes collected. God only knows what shape the public coffers must be in when a Spanish cabinet minister has to mix the subjects of tax revenue and face masks! There are many different ways to say something, but if you are talking about a product that has turned into an essential item, one which you either have or you can't even attempt to go out your front door, the words chosen leave a little to be desired. If on top of this, we add the economic crisis that is affecting society as a whole, the least that can be said is that the left-wing government is being highly insensitive. And it is not, incidentally, the first time this has been perceived.
But this has not been the Spanish executive's only bungle, as minister María Jesús Montero has been defending against all odds, and maintaining the taxation income as her only interest, that European regulations prevented the government from lowering IVA. Something that was a half-truth, as it certainly existed, but the European Commission had pointed out that it was not going to take any action against the countries that reduce the rate. And it didn't that this month, or last, but way back in April when the full dimension of the catastrophe was not yet known, nor that the combination of health and economic crises would end up being so lethal.
There was, therefore, no fear of any penalty involved, but just a desire to bring more funds into the coffers, something which in the end has become so evident that the Spanish ministry has had to walk back its decision in a matter of days. The experience of the fight against coronavirus shows that no government can avoid making mistakes and, also, that measures which function in some places are not as efficient in others without the reason ever being clear. But that is only part of the problem right now. The ever-growing number of sectors in crisis need to be assisted to extricate themselves and not just given alms that serve little purpose. In this respect, the silence of the Spanish government is resounding and the lack of budgetary allocations for the autonomous communities is a real problem.
That is why situations like this masks episiode are so unacceptable and painful for the public.