TW
0

T HE Balearic government had made its so-called “green taxes” a major policy issue. They were planning to ‘slap a surcharge' on the large hypermarkets, on companies that use “packaging” and car hire companies. How , the cash strapped government made a good case for the taxes saying that they would raise much needed additional funding. But yesterday, they decided to do an embarrassing U-turn and announced that the taxes would be placed on hold until at least the end of the summer season. The business community has given a sigh of relief but the Balearic government looks rather weak. Balearic President Jose Ramon Bauza must have known that it would cause an outcry when he gave the ‘green light' to the taxes. The fact that he has caved in ,shows the level of opposition he must have been facing. Now, no-one likes new taxes but if additional funding is needed to pay for hospitals and education, then it is the job of the politician to put their case. I think the Balearic government has handled this issue rather badly. Surely, they could have worked with the companies involved and reached some accord. Bauza was yesterday busy defending the “tax postponement” but he faced fire from all sides. If you are in government, you are elected to rule. It is no good taking a decision and then deciding that it is too risky. What the Balearics needs is strong leadership especially, when it comes to such issues as funding and new taxes.