The Minister of Finance and Public Administration, Cristóbal Montoro, has announced a new payment plan for 2013 but this time linked to an obligation for public authorities to pay suppliers within thirty days. Not before time.
The payment plans, which began in 2012, are designed to ease the pressure on businesses due to the late or non-payment by public authorities. Municipalities such as Jerez carry a debt of over one billion euros, although the majority are well below such a figure.
However, it does not help businesses to survive when they do not get paid, in some extreme cases for up to twenty years.
In 2012, the Central Government provided an initial €27 billion for the purpose of paying suppliers with the proviso that public authorities presented plans to balance their budgets and generally get their finances in order. The initial amount was later topped up with another €2.7 billion.
The new payment plan has not yet been finalised and could involve changes to current laws before it can be put into operation.