Austerity Measures Will End Reliance on ECB : Salgado

 

Elena Salgado, Spain's Minister for Finance and the Economy, yesterday claimed how the government's deficit reduction measures will the need for ongoing assistance for its bonds from the ECB to an end.

In an interview with Bloomberg over the weekend the Minister spoke of how the measure will increase investor confidence in Spain and Spanish markets.

The interview followed the introduction of a new round of austerity measures on Friday, which included the reduction of sales tax on the purchase of new-build properties, and cost savings on the purchases of pharmaceuticals by the state health system.

A further measure is the advance payments of corporate taxes, which could generate as much as 2.5 Billion Euros to the economy for 2011.

The economy of the country grew by just 0.2% on Q2 of 2011, following 0.3% growth on Q1, with unemployment still hovering around the 20% mark.