Water Tax Proposed 6 November 2006
A tax on excessive water has been proposed as a key measure to eliminate excessive usage.
The fact that water levels are so low as to be causing serious concern should come as a surprise to no-one. What may come as a surprise is just how much water we consume here in Spain. A recent survey puts Spain at the top of a league of water consumers. It is reckoned that each person is consuming 171 litres of water a day.
Should new laws be passed, then each person would be restricted to 60 litres of water per day. In new proposals, Cristina Narbona wants to tax people who use more than this amount. The tax would be by way of a surcharge. Naturally there is a long path between a proposal and making it law, and it is not known how the proposal would be made law. However, Ms Narbona wants the new laws in effect within 4 years.
However, some people think that she is missing the mark. More than 80% of all water consumed in Spain is in the agricultural sector. Ms Narbona's proposal did not make any reference to how this usage would be controlled. |