Spain had the first law with tax incentives for private participation in activities of general interest in 1994. Eight years later, what would become the Spanish Patronage Law, Law 49/2002, was approved, which, despite being born as a pioneering law in the European sphere, would rapidly decline, to the point that in a short time several modification proposals would already emerge.
On the other hand, France would approve its Aillagon Law a year later —a patronage law that took the name of the Minister of Culture at that time—, a referent European law on the matter ever since and which would leave the Spanish law far behind. In this context, the creation of the Mission du Mécénat was fundamental, which would establish public policies of awareness, pedagogy, and dissemination in the knowledge of patronage, convincing citizens why we all have to be active agents and of its benefits for society in general. This initiative would be the one to develop an enviable social involvement and participation for the other countries of the Euroregion.
However, it must be highlighted that when Mr. Aillagon was proposed to be Minister of Culture, he, wise as he is, was very clear about what suited him and asked: "Who is the Minister of Finance?". He knew for sure that whoever held the key to establishing transformative policies would be his counterpart in tax matters.
And this is what we have never been able to coordinate in the Spanish State. The cultural, social, and research sectors have been clear about how essential private resources are to successfully promote their projects. Likewise, their role in sustaining the welfare state is unquestionable if we consider that the expenditure of non-profit entities on activities of general interest reaches almost 17,000 million euros; but from the Ministry of Finance or the Departament d'Economia, they have always been reluctant to approve any action that would entail an estimated fiscal cost of close to 700 million euros. One does not have to be a great mathematician to understand that the return is in favor of society and the well-being of all, inasmuch as the beneficiaries are entities and actions that look after our quality of life. Even so, in times of crisis like those we have been concatenating year after year in our country, it is not a decision that any minister has been willing to take, until recently.
Some autonomous communities have known how to legislate in the section of the personal income tax (IRPF) in which they have competence, but they are still few, and this is not the case in Catalonia, where we continue to fight for it to be corrected in terms of the social and cultural sector, especially given that we are one of the most supportive autonomous communities in the State.
Twenty-one years, a lot of pressure from various sectors, and a lot of work from people who have worked together were needed to make it possible for Sergi Miquel, a deputy from the Plural Group, to achieve a sufficient majority in the parliamentary chamber in favor of a reform of the Patronage Law. For years, each of the political parties that has held the government has announced and predicted the "new" law, and so we have been waiting, for more than two decades, for the modification to become a reality.
Finally, last April, not without very difficult internal negotiations, a first parliamentary stage was overcome with the approval in Congress of a reform, which, although not a panacea, did take an important step forward benefiting micro-patronage, loyalty, and recognized new types of donations and economic exploitation modalities, among other improvements.
When I wrote this article, only the approval of the Senate and the publication of the new articles in the BOE were missing to be able to celebrate that the Spanish State would have, starting on January 1, 2024, a somewhat fairer law for all those people, companies, and entities that participate, collaborate, and help make our country a better place, and that the law adapted (somewhat more) to the new socioeconomic ways of the 21st century.
We had studied many unforeseen events that we knew how to overcome, but in no case had we imagined that a devastating plot twist awaited us, the call for general elections, which entailed the dissolution of the Cortes and, three days before being approved, the loss of all the work done in terms of patronage.
We have fallen back to the square that sends you back to the starting point. We will try to ensure that the work done is not lost and we will demand that the party that takes over the government recognizes the political consensus that had been achieved and that this setback becomes an opportunity to approve an even better law.
At this point, I no longer dare to say anything other than that we will fight again to have a worthy Patronage Law. And, in the meantime, from the Fundació Catalunya Cultura, and in collaboration with the Chair of CSR of the University of Girona, we will continue to promote the IMPULSA CULTURA Seal, which makes visible and certifies the awareness of those purpose-driven companies that seek, through culture, to leave a legacy in their territory and bet on their people and their country.