Royal Decree 392/2022, dated 24 May, amending the Regulations of the Arbitration Board foreseen in the Economic Agreement with the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, approved by Royal Decree 1760/2007, dated 28 December, which was also amended by Royal Decree 335/2014, dated 9 May, has been published in the Official State Gazette of 25 May 2022.

The current amendment is mainly of a technical and procedural nature and, for the most part, derives from the need to adapt some of its provisions to the new wording of Articles 47 ter, 64 and 68 of the Economic Agreement, approved by Law 1/2022, of 8 February. Likewise, some amendments of merely formal scope have been incorporated, such as those aimed at updating the references contained in the Regulations to other recently amended laws or the references to bodies or organisational structures whose name has changed.

Text of the Royal Decree

On 28 March, the “10th Ituna Conference – The Quota in the light of its negotiators and protagonists (1841-2022)“, organised by the Ituna Centre and Ad Concordiam, will be held. The event will take place at 8:30 a.m. in the Baroja Hall of the Bizkaia Aretoa (UPV/EHU) in Bilbao, with the aim of analysing and reflecting on the evolution of the quota from its origins to the present day, paying special attention to the current quota system, developed since 1981.

In addition to the historical perspective, the conference will feature prominent figures involved in the negotiations between the central administration and the Basque administrations that have determined, since 1981, the methodology of the Basque Country’s contribution to the financing of non-assumed burdens.

Registration for attendance in person is free and can also be followed via streaming.

Registration at the web site of the Documentation Centre of the Economic Agreement and Foral Treasuries.

Programme

The Centre for Documentation and Research on the Economic Agreement and the Local Treasuries, together with the Faculty of Economics and Business (UPV/EHU) and the Department of Treasury and Finance of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia have announced the 1st Ituna Prize to award the best Master’s Thesis (TFM) and Bachelor’s Thesis (TFG) defended in 2021 that are related to the subjects of the Economic Agreement and the Local Treasuries, from any perspective, such as taxation, history, sociology, law, economics, etc.

The works competing for the prize may be presented in Spanish, Basque, English or French, and must have obtained a minimum mark of 8.

The winning works will be eligible for publication in the “Research Collection” of the Association for the Promotion and Dissemination of the Economic Agreement Ad Concordiam.

Announcement of the 1st Ituna Prize

On 3 March, the University Master’s in Tax Consultancy is organising the 1st Deusto Conference on the Economic Agreement in which Gemma Martínez Barbara, Deputy Director of Tax Consultancy and Policy of the Regional Treasury of Bizkaia, will participate as keynote speaker with the lecture “Challenges of the Economic Agreement in the era of global taxation”.

Afterwards, the Round Table “Past, present, and future of the Economic Agreement” will be held.

Link to the Conference

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Pedro Azpiazu, held a meeting on 28 January in Paris with the Director of International Taxation of the OECD, Pascal Saint Amas. At this meeting, the Minister defended the role of the Economic Agreement in the field of international taxation, and the involvement of Basque institutions in the implementation of the measures approved in the BEPS project.

Azpiazu, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Itziar Agirre, outlined the unique characteristics of the Basque tax system regulated by the Economic Agreement. He also took the opportunity to convey what he has reiterated to the State regarding the participation of the Basque institutions in the international forums where tax issues are discussed, which directly affect the Basque tax system.

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