Professor José María Gay de Liébana (Barcelona, 1953), one of the great popularizers of the economy in Spain, wanted to capture in a book his countless hours of classes at the University of Barcelona on the large technological companies that dominate the world today. Finances with Sex-appeal was the name chosen by Gay de Liébana but, due to a business decision, he changed the name at the last moment.
. “We did not want to talk about finances in the classic cut of a lifetime. I wanted to give it joy,” says the professor. After a health “scare” -as he says-, he began to write this project, which has served as therapy. The benefits are intended for the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology. “They are proof that with resources you can investigate and always move forward,” he points out.
How do you see the new Tax on Digital Services, known as ?
Fatal. It is to put doors to the field. These companies are the ones that lead the world and are going to be the engines of growth for a long time and here we come out with this, like a redneck. It shows the inferiority complex that Europe has and that we are not capable of being within this new wave, which is the technological era and the vanguard throughout the world.
“I can smell that there will be more tensions between the European Union and the United States and, in this case, caused by Spain”
Is it going to have negative consequences for Spain?
President Trump will feel like a punch in the jaw. He’s going to cost us a lot. The United States has already knocked us out and now, on top of that, they are coming out with this. Our companies are going to have a hard time exporting to the United States.
Can new tensions be generated with Washington?
I can smell that there will be more tensions between the European Union and the United States and, in this case, caused by Spain. Trump can be pissed off with Europe because of the Google Tax and the French Glasses. In addition, Europe will no longer have a valid interlocutor with Washington because Merkel is retiring. It must be taken into account that the United States is our main customer. Almost 800,000 million euros go there and we cannot flirt with who is our main business partner.
What do you think of the new coalition government in Spain?
I do not like. They don’t have their feet on the ground and they don’t know the real world. At a time of slowdown in which things are getting complicated and we are all going to suffer, they come to us with the increase in taxes, the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage and the rise in Social Contributions. It’s not the best time to do it. It can lead to an economic contraction.
They have also recently launched the ‘Tobin Tax’.
It is a torpedo to the waterline of Spanish companies. Anyone who can articulate an investment outside of here will.
“There is not going to be any business incentive here and this is really unfortunate”
What do you think of the numbers that the Executive manages for the future General State Budget?
In the Government they are dedicated to social spending. You have to be careful because, in principle, for 2020 the spending forecast is 534,000 million euros. To this we must add everything that they already accrue. They can make a monumental tear to the accounts.
What does Spain need at this time of economic slowdown?
We would have to get rid of all this political structure and invest the money in creating companies. We have a political virus and with that we cannot prosper or go anywhere.
What kind of politicians would be good for the country?
The ones we have here have nothing to do with the Americans, for example. In the United States right now there is a president who has been a businessman and has gone bankrupt twice. He has in his cabinet the president of ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs or a president of a large multinational. All with great experience, over seventy years. Who do we have here? What have they managed? Do you know the real world? We need politicians who know what a company is. Our solution is to create a habitat that is pleasant for the business world.
Is there hope for the future?
There is not going to be any business incentive here and this is really unfortunate. What we need to do is get rid of all this insane political fat and build on R&D from there. You just have to see what other countries are doing. Our production model is increasingly concentrated in services and commerce, which in Spain have low added value. The industry only represents 11% and the field represents very little. We have to go to high value-added services and become a kind of Silicon Valley. So we will not have any Minimum Wage problem.
What will happen with the Coronavirus?
I want to believe that this is going to be something very temporary. It is true that . China has a brutal weight in the world economy, every time something happens it will affect the whole world. The impact, in principle, I think it will be for the first quarter.
Is the trade war over?
This year there may be some calm, but any little thing can complicate it. Europe is now in the eye of Trump and if he puts tariffs on us we will have a very bad time. We can’t flirt with our main business partner.
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