They are cutting spending and taxes raised

The new Spanish Government yesterday announced Friday that the country's fiscal deficit will be higher than expected at the end of 2011 and announced their first set of austerity measures that include surprising income and property tax hikes.

At the end of the second meeting of the Cabinet, the new Government said that after an upward revision, the 2011 fiscal deficit reached 8% of gross domestic product, not 6% as planned by the previous authorities.

In addition to this review, amid predictions of a speedy return of the economy Spanish recession, the Government that presides over Mariano Rajoy announced further measures to control its debt, such as reductions in spending for 8,900 million euros (US $11,500 million).

This is just the beginning, said the spokesman and Deputy Minister Spanish Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

In 2012 will be announced further reforms and austerity measures, he added.

The u000aConservative Popular Party took power just last week after his arrollante victory in the elections of the November 20.

Without debt crisis
the new authorities in Spain have been set as main task ensuring the country does not fall into the debt crisis, as happened to Greece, Ireland and Portugal - who requested millionaires rescues financial-.

Similar problems threaten to Italy, an economy of greater size.

Although the budgetary défict of Spain exceeds the limit of 3% of GDP for the Nations of the euro, the country has not had the same kind of difficulties that Italy to raise financing with bonds, as Spanish debt is relatively low, 66 per cent in respect of the gross domestic product, compared to 120% of the Italian.

Spanish bonds in 10 years, that benchmark, paid little interest at the end of 2011 more than 5%, down from 7% of the Italian papers and that is u000aconsidered a financially unworkable level to long term

However, Spain is forced to control their federal and regional, indebtedness in particular because of its high unemployment. Indebtedness is also considerable in the private sector after the bursting of the housing bubble that caused the collapse of the sector, which had contributed to the robustness of growth for nearly a decade.

More work for equal pay
Los 2.6 millions of Spanish officials will keep their salary but many of them - mainly dependent communities, municipalities, county councils and councils will have to work longer hours.

The Council of Ministers adopted yesterday back to freeze in 2012 the salary of public employees, which has already been frozen this year and had been reduced by 5% in 2010. Freeze means that not low, but it loses purchasing power because neither rises, while prices did go up. A. u000athe time, the working hours of staff amounts to 37.5 hours per week. Who does not want to work these hours cannot be denied, but will have to accept one lower salary.

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