Spanish Business News

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero plans to bring back a tax on wealth ahead of elections slated for Nov. 20, El Mundo reported without saying where it got the information.

Under the plan, Spain would tax fortunes at 1 percent to 2 percent with the first 600,000 euros ($819,000) being exempt, the newspaper said.

Zapatero suppressed a previous version of the wealth tax three years ago, the newspaper said. The cabinet may approve the plan at its Sept. 16 meeting, El Mundo said.

A spokeswoman for Zapatero’s office, who asked not to be identified by name in line with government policy, declined to comment on the report. She said Jose Blanco, the government spokesman, said at a news conference last week that the government had not studied imposing a wealth tax and also had not ruled it out.

Source: Bloomberg