The Economy of Catalonia

Databases and their respective computer programs
As previously mentioned, both the new Catalan State and the predecessor
State should appear before the world with the capacity to assure, in a normal
way, their respective economic activities and provisioning of services.
The elements that should assure citizens of the continuity and normality
in the provision of services include, among others, the fiscal data of the
Spanish State (that is to say, of the AEAT – the Spanish State Tax Administration
Agency), and the data on Pensions, which are administered
by Social Security.
These data are «live» information that changes day by day and that is drawn
from computerised historical information. In the beginnings of the new Catalan
State, it will be indispensable that the predecessor State should comply
with the plans established for the transfer of archives to the successor State, 43
in the interest of both States and in that of their respective citizens.
Moreover, it should be noted that today, in our computerised world,
data can only be conceived in conjunction with access to the respective
computer programs that process them.
Special consideration of the fiscal deficit and of the breaches
of law which it may involve
Competitiveness fund
The competitiveness fund is intended for the autonomous regions which have
a per capita financing that is below average or under their fiscal capacity index.
The fund’s aim is to reduce the differences in per capita resources and to incentivise
fiscal autonomy and capacity. This fund is distributed among the beneficiary
autonomous regions –which include Catalonia– adjusted according to
their relative population. The Spanish State’s debt to Catalonia on 31 December
2012 was 836 million euros. 44
43. Article 20 VC1983. «For the purposes of the articles in the present Part, ‘State
archives of the predecessor State’ means all documents of whatever date and kind, produced
or received by the predecessor State in the exercise of its functions which, at the
date of the succession of States, belonged to the predecessor State according to its internal
law and were preserved by it directly or under its control as archives for whatever
purpose.»
44. La Vanguardia. 03/12/2013.
162 The Economy of Catalonia