The Government agrees to establish a separate treasury for Catalonia and to limit inter-territorial solidarity.

Two long-standing demands of nationalism, the need for a separate treasury and the restriction of inter-territorial solidarity , are included in the bases of the next "singular" financing model for Catalonia , which was agreed upon today by the State-Generalitat Bilateral Commission , in which the executives headed by Pedro Sánchez and Salvador Illa are represented.

Figures and a timeline are still unknown , but the principles of the change in model represent a 180-degree turn from the current one. Salvador Illa 's Generalitat (PSC) stressed that it is a model that can be generalized to the other autonomous regions under the common regime, although the emphasis placed on this issue does not prevent strong criticism from the rest of the regions, both those led by the PP and the two headed by the PSOE : Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias.

Meanwhile, ERC has decided to increase the pressure on the Socialists, demanding that they specify the resources Catalonia would gain from the change in model and announcing that it will submit several bills to Congress to strengthen the change . For its part, Junts asserted that it is only willing to accept a "concert like the one in the Basque Country," in the words of one of its leaders, Antoni Castellà. These are the main new features of the agreement reached this Monday by the PSOE government and the Generalitat:

1) One hundred percent of taxes

On a date yet to be determined, the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) will assume all the functions currently performed by the Treasury in the region and the next personal income tax campaign will begin. This was stated in the investiture agreement signed by the ERC and the PSC exactly one year ago, which made Illa's arrival at the Generalitat possible .

The ATC is very young: it was created in 2006, after the controversial reform of the Statute came into force, and it handles both its own and transferred taxes. It collects €5 billion, which contrasts with the €30 billion the Treasury receives from personal income tax.

To strengthen this organization, the Government and the Generalitat (Catalan Government) agreed at the beginning of the year that the ATC would participate in Registrations . It remains to be seen whether this same approach will be adopted for the next Personal Income Tax campaign.

The Government admits that the ATC lacks the technical or human resources to take on new functions and has begun the process of increasing staff, although it will be a slow process.

One of the main new features is that, before and after applying the solidarity mechanisms, the autonomous regions' classification in terms of resources per capita would be the same. This is the so-called principle of ordinality .

2) Distribution of income

Once the model is fully implemented and all taxes are collected by the Generalitat, the two administrations will share the revenue , with a percentage that has not yet been disclosed and that must be specified in the Lofca (Organic Law on the Financing of the Autonomous Communities), the organic law that regulates the financing of the autonomous communities.

When calculating the proportion that would correspond to the two parties, the cost of the services provided by the State in Catalonia will be taken into account.

In the current model, the Tax Agency collects revenue and then distributes a portion of the income tax, VAT , and excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and hydrocarbons, among others.

3) Principle of ordinality

When allocating the share of resources for the Generalitat, the principle of ordinality would also be taken into account. Interterritorial solidarity would be maintained, but limited to ensuring that no territory loses positions in the ranking of public resources per capita.

Under the current model, the one implemented in Catalonia in 2009, no region fell below the average. Now, Catalonia would make another step forward in this direction.

Another new feature is that, when it comes to establishing the allocation between the parties, the mechanism would be simpler than the current one, without advances as is the case now, and also with fewer special funds.

4) Compensation for own skills

The calculation described so far would apply to homogeneous powers , that is, those shared by all autonomous communities.

However, there are certain powers that are unique to Catalonia. For example, it has its own police force deployed throughout the country (the Mossos d'Esquadra ), and the transfer of the commuter rail network is now underway. The transfer will be carried out by a mixed operator, with Renfe holding the majority stake and the Catalan government having the casting vote.

For this reason, once the taxes have been distributed among the parties, the State will contribute to financing Catalonia's specific responsibilities , in a percentage yet to be determined. The methodology and frequency for these calculations must also be defined.

5) Bilateral, but generalizable

The text provides that all communities that wish to do so will be able to adopt the new model. It does not specify whether all territories would do so at the same time or whether a progressive schedule would be established. It also does not currently include any potential state mechanisms to compensate the poorest communities for the limitations on solidarity between territories.

6) Regulatory capacity

Catalonia's self-government is being strengthened. In addition to the prominence of the ATC, the Parliament's powers to legislate on tax matters are also being increased, respecting the limits of European regulations. Additional mechanisms would also be introduced to limit downward tax competition.

Specifically, one of the points of agreement between the Socialists, Junts, and ERC is their rejection of the Madrid regional government 's cuts, which they accuse of practicing "tax dumping ."