On 14 July 2025 the State–Generalitat Bilateral Commission agreed the principles of a new funding model for Catalonia, giving the Catalan Tax Agency a bigger role in income tax. What changes and what is still missing.
On 14 July 2025 the State–Generalitat Bilateral Commission approved an agreement on Catalonia’s so-called “singular financing”, one of the commitments in the 2024 investiture pact between the PSC and ERC. The text sets out the principles of a new model in which Catalonia would manage more taxes and contribute to solidarity with the other regions. The same day, the Joint Commission on Economic and Fiscal Affairs agreed measures to strengthen the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC).
What was agreed
The state and the Generalitat undertook that the ATC would gradually take over the management, collection and inspection of income tax in Catalonia, starting by cooperating in the income-tax campaign, sharing taxpayer data and giving Catalan staff access to the systems of the national Tax Agency. A working group was set up to develop the model and propose the necessary legal reforms.
The model requires changes to the Organic Law on the Financing of the Autonomous Communities and other legislation, which Congress must approve and where the government did not have a guaranteed majority. The investiture pact’s initial goal, for the Generalitat to collect all income tax in 2026, was left up in the air, and several sources placed it beyond 2028.
The debate
Supporters present the agreement as a step towards a fairer system for Catalonia, which, by their calculations, contributes more than it receives under the common system. Critics, including the PP and several regional governments, argue that it breaks equality between regions and opens the door to an arrangement like the Basque one. Experts agree that its real effect will depend on how contributions to solidarity are calculated.
What it means for Catalan taxpayers
In the short term nothing changes for taxpayers: income tax and other taxes are paid in the same way, under the same rules. In the medium term, if the model is applied, the ATC could become the main counterpart for income tax in Catalonia. It is worth following the timetable and procedural changes. Ask your tax adviser how it may affect you.
In regional financing, political agreements are the beginning; what counts is the law and its small print.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
