3 minute read
Tax breaks
SPAIN’S taxpayers can expect to save between €9 and €550 on their 2022 tax returns.
tions included in SMMT’s plans.
The trade body has launched a Green Automotive Transformation Strategy for the motor industry, calling for more openhanded subsidies and less red tape for proposed batterypro duction schemes.
Its plan would position the UK as one of the world’s most competitive locations for advanced automotive manufacturing, Hawes argued.
It was vital to react to the US’s $369 billion (€343.7 bil
Covid’s aftermath
COINCIDING with the third anniversary of the first Covid lockdown, the Bank of Spain warned that the pandemic’s effect on the nation’s health could also have an impact on the economy.
A survey assessing the economic effects of a possible overall decline in the general health of Spain’s population concluded that this could lead to an increase in health spending. This in turn would create the need for more health professionals, the report’s authors Samuel Hurtado y Mario Izquierdo said.
“Although at present this is very difficult to evaluate it could be a factor to take into account, together with the problem of an ageing society,” they said.
“Should this dynamic continue or even increase, it could be decisive for the economy's potential output in the medium to long term.”
Fullyelectric and hybrid vehicles accounted for almost a third of all UKbuilt cars last year, worth £10 billion (€11.4 billion) in exports, Hawes said.
He added“The UK boasts a firm foundation of EV production, with outstanding research and a highly skilled workforce, we must not squander these advantages.”
On the up
SEAT is out of the red with a 2022 operating profit of €33 million, compared with €233 million pretax losses in 2021 and €339 million in 2020. This was possible thanks to Cupra, Seat’s highperformance road car branch whose 179,632 units represented 40.6 per cent of last year’s global production. Twothirds were Formentor models, produced at Seat’s Martorell ( Barcelona) branch. Seat and Cupra sales of 386,000 vehicles fell by 18.1 per cent worldwide last year although production contracted by 0.8 per cent, with 420,000 units.
The semiconductor crisis was responsible for the downturn, as Volkswagen prioritised microchips for brands generating the biggest profit margins.
The changes are the result of adjustments made by the central government for incomes below an annual €21,000 and the updating of autonomous regions’ minimum rates.
Taxpayers earning between €16,000 and €20,000 will benefit most, with savings of between €540 and €300, depending on region where they live, while those earning more than an annual €100,000 will, on average, pay €150 less.
However, those on €30,000 will hardly benefit, with discounts of less than €10.
Freehold deal
SAINSBURY’S is taking full ownership of investment vehicles Highbury and Dragon in which it holds a 49 per cent stake.
It will pay £430.9 million (€491.5 million) for Supermarket Income REIT’s 51 per cent holding in Highbury and Dragon, created in 2000 and comprising freeholds of 26 stores that it leases.
Britain’s largest chain after Tesco with 600 supermarkets and more than 800 convenience stores, will acquire the 21 premises that it previously rented from Supermarket Income REIT and which will continue to operate as Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
Dow Jones
Energy plan
CENTRICA, which owns British Gas, announced that it would extend the lives of two nuclear power stations in Heysham (Lancashire) and Hartlepool (County Durham) until 2026. It hopes in this way to “strengthen the UK’s energy security in uncertain times”, Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea said.
An all-rounder
VOLKSWAGEN gave a preview in Barcelona on March 15 of its ID.2all prototype, an electric car that will be produced at the Martorell plant from 2025 onwards. Priced at under €25,000 it would be “as roomy as a Golf and as affordable as a Polo”, VW said at the presentation.
Pay scale
JUNIOR doctors will challenge the government over pay by pointing out that they could earn more at Pret a Manger. Pret employees’ April rise – their third in 12 months will bring them up to £14.10 (€16.06) an hour, compared with the £14.09 (€16.05) doctorss earn during their first year.
Online fans
A SURVEY by Adevinta, which owns several web portals, found that 97 per cent of those interviewed said they had bought or sold products online. A further 67 per cent said that they did so habitually, an increase of 16 per cent on a similar Adevinta survey in 2021.
Losing out
MORRISONS suffered a £1.5 billion (€1.7 billion) loss during its first full year in privateequity ownership, the supermarket chain’s latest results revealed. The grocery retailer was bought in October 2021 by the US private equity firm, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice for (CD&R) for £7 billion (approximately €8 billion).
