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Staff Reporter

PALMA
A total of 3'550 Balearic families will now start to receive the 2'500 euros from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Tax for the birth or adoption of a child as part of the so-called baby-grants.

Applications have been made since July 1 this year. According to the Ministry, this grant will be paid gradually, and they expect to have paid 55'000 families throughout Spain by the end of the month. Throughout the country there have been applications by 142'331 families and it is expected that before the end of the year 120'000 families will have received the payment. Also, the Ministry said that from 2008, the average waiting time for the payment would be 30 days from the application. The law also provides for an additional single payment grant of 1'000 euros from the Social Security, “in cases of adoption or birth where the family is numerous, or single parent families with just one source of income” or “the mother suffers from a disability of 65 percent or more”. The Ministry made it clear that to receive the additional payment of 1'000 euros, the family income has to be less than 11'000 euros a year, a figure which rises “in families with a lot of children and the number of children in their care”. According to the Ministry, “generally the person who benefits from the deduction or payment will be the mother”, although “it could be the father who benefits in the case of the death of the mother, or if there is a transfer of the right to receive payment”. Up to November 19, the region with the highest number of births and adoptions reported was Andalucia, with 28'563, followed by Catalonia, with 25'124, Madrid (19'687) and Valencia (15'749). Applications for the grant can be presented via the internet, with an electronic signature, through the webpage www.agenciatributaria.es, at the Tax Office's offices, or via the telephone line 901 200 345. To get the grant, you have to present Social Security Form 140, and people who “do not work or reside in the Basque region or Navarra can also apply using Social Security Form 141”. If you are applying by telephone, it will be necessary to give your N.I.F., bank account number, Social Security number, your tax return details and your marital status.