Entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises cant do anymore. Rising energy and social security costs, lack of credit, elimination of government subsidies, etc. are some of the recent measures, most of which have been promoted by the Spanish government, that have made the business leaders decide to stand their ground. Tomorrow, PIMEC, the Catalan small and medium-size business association will fill the Palau de Congressos exhibition hall in Barcelona with an event titled We say Enough!. The event has received all kinds of support, from within and from outside of Catalonia, to complain that the governments have forgotten the SMEs and caused many to disappear. The president of the business association, José González, exclaimed “If small and medium businesses disappear, you can tell me how were going to get out of this financial crisis.” And he recalls that, especially in Catalonia, where SMEs traditionally are responsible for a large proportion of business and employment, the SME network is crucial. In this interview, Gonzalez describes the demands of employers and explains that the event tomorrow will not be just a protest against the Spanish government, but also against the Catalan government. Its true that if we look at the whole series of measures that have led to this action, most of them are under the jurisdiction of the government in Madrid. But for example the tax burden is much higher in Catalonia than in the rest of the state. For Gonzàlez, the recovery for small and medium enterprises is still far off, but it is also essential for reviving the economy, which will benefit everyone. Thats why he feels hurt every time the Spanish president says there is economic growth. The only thing thats growing is taxes. That is really obvious. —Is the event tomorrow like slamming a fist on the table? —Yes. Because recent measures theyve undertaken have greatly harmed SMEs and the self-employed. The clearest and most delicate example is the rising cost of social security. Lately weve had a rise in the cost basis of 5%, and weve begun to contribute for things we never did before, which also increases prices. And some months ago, they cancelled all of the subsidies for contracting older workers (60 years plus) or for people with particular disabilities. And on top of all of that, there is the rise of the VAT tax, which when it was implemented, was accompanied by a promise that contributions to social security would decrease. Now we see that that was a lie. —According to your website, the situation is at a critical point and has gotten more complicated for several reasons… —Its an accumulation of things, and again, the straw that broke the camels back is the 5% rise in contributions. But its true that all of that is also accompanied by the cost of energy, which continues to rise. We have the highest kilowatt price in Europe, not to mention the tax on self-generated energy, which discourages many companies from producing their own energy because its simply not cost effective to do so. In addition, they say that theyll loosen up credit and the truth is that credit hasnt budged for six years. That is, there is little credit, and it incurs high costs and requires personal and family collateral on loans. And you also have to keep the tax burden in mind, which over the past two years has continued to rise. This has made people really indignant because now theyre saying that things are going well or starting to go well and its just not true. Sure, sure, theyre going well, but theyre making it very expensive for me, and causing my company’s margins to fall. —If nothing changes soon, what will happen? —Well, more companies will die. We have an extremely high mortality rate among SMEs as well as a very high number of companies that are in bankruptcy, while the self-employed are closing up shop. And Im talking about official, well-documented data. And if the small and medium enterprises go, you can tell me how were going to make it out of the financial crisis. —Which government is responsible for this situation? That is, who are you protesting against? —It is a cry of protest against both governments, Catalan and Spanish, in different proportions, of course. It is true that if we look at the whole series of measures that have led to this action, the government in Madrid is responsible for most of them. But for example, the tax burden is much higher in Catalonia than in the rest of the state. The event is not just against one government but rather is against both. —But due to the industrial structure in Spain, small and medium enterprises play a particularly crucial role in Catalonia… —Absolutely, yes. In Catalonia SMEs are our core business, we have a powerful SME structure. But it must also be said that most of the measures that affect us also affect most regions of Spain. And the proof is that we have received support from companies and employers from outside Catalonia: ATA Unipime… —The crisis has struck SMEs but also many other sectors... What concrete actions are you asking most urgently from the governments? —Heres a very graphic example. Since the financial crisis began, credit for SMEs and the self-employed has fallen almost to zero. But if we analyze the data, we see that both local and regional authorities have received more credit than ever, because they needed it and so they have received it. These are official figures, ok? Large companies are the same way, according to the Bank of Spain. The banks have received almost fifty billion in bailouts because they needed it. Well, according to additional data from the Bank of Spain, who did not receive credit and whose credit has plummeted? SMEs and the self-employed. The feeling is that we are the last in line and this is a good explanation for the We say Enough! campaign and the indignation. Were sick of it, because afterwards they wax poetic about how the SMEs generate the most jobs, employ the most people, etc. Yes, but theyre leaving us out in the cold, without keeping in mind that we are fundamental for reviving the economy. Wednesday we will make a very well documented case with very concrete suggestions. But our message now is: Youve forgotten about the SMEs and therefore youve broken the social contract that existed between government and SMEs. And that makes the financial crisis worse. —In the last several hours, there has been a huge increase in support for the event. Were you expecting it? Yes, its no surprise. People are very tired. We knew that we would fill the Palau exhibition hall. —One of the most recent supporters is the Cercle Català de Negocis (Catalan Business Circle) which adds that the only way out of this situation is independence… —Were not going to get into that, nor do we make that same interpretation. For a very simple reason: here we have enough business-related motives to protest against both governments. The special situation that Catalonia is going through right now should not be mixed in. Right now we have laws, some directives, taxes and funding which depend on both Catalonia and Madrid. Is there some other ideal system? Well, OK, were certainly not against it. At the time we said that we were supporters of the right to decide, but now is not the time to mix things. If we end up summarizing that Catalonia on its own would do everything better, there wouldnt be anything left to solve. Meanwhile, what? We shouldnt say anything? Time right now is against us. In addition, if this independence arrives, many of the arguments that we defend now well have to defend then as well. There is no guarantee that says that Catalonia on its own will do any better. —[Columbia Professor Xavier] Sala-i-Martin says, in fact, that its true that we have no guarantee, but he adds that at least we have the opportunity to try it… —Yes, agreed, but Im not getting into that. When we held the extraordinary board meeting, we decided that this event was going to be just about business and finances, and not about sovereignty. They are different phases. In this event we want to make it clear that if nothing is done now, more companies will fail very soon, and there will be no recovery. That is, if we do not help the SMEs, no one will make it out of the financial crisis. And when I hear that Rajoy says there is growth, I say yes, growth in taxes and charges. The only thing thats growing is taxes. This is really obvious. vilaweb.cat/noticia/4179728/20140318/josep-gonzalez-pimec-we-say-enough-the-only-thing-thats-growing-is-taxes.html
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 10:08:20 +0000
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