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The new tax would not affect individual citizens neither would it be implemented in areas without housing demand. The tax aims to put apartments and houses, owned by banks and real estate companies that remain empty despite being in areas with a demand for housing, back on the market. The expected effect is an increase in the amount of housing on offer in those areas and to make renting cheaper. The Catalan Minister for Public Works, Santi Vila, announced the new tax on Monday morning. A few hours later, the Catalan President confirmed they are considering it, although no final decision has been made. The Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) stated that the measure was part of the agreement reached with the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU).

Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Every 23rd April the traditional red roses and all kinds of books invade the streets creating a unique atmosphere. Tradition says that the man gives a rose to his loved one and she offers a book to the man she loves. However, tradition has evolved and people also give books and roses to partners, family members and friends now. Despite the crisis six million roses and a million books are expected to be sold.

The third edition of the Intermon Oxfam Trailwalker has collected 620,000 euros to improve access to water in Sahel, Africa. The challenge consisted in walking 100 kilometres from the Pyrenees to the Costa Brava in less than 32 hours. 260 teams made up of six people participated, with the only previous requirement of bringing 1,500 euros each for the cause. 187 teams crossed the finish line and records were broken as the first team to arrive, “Kriter.net”, completed the challenge in 9 hours and 45 minutes, faster than any other team in all the Trailwalker events held in 12 different countries.

The Barcelona tennis tournament known as the Conde de Godó Trophy is an ATP World Tour 500 event and one of the most important on the clay court circuit. From April 20th to the 28th the top 10 players Nadal, Ferrer and Berdych will meet in the Catalan capital. Nicolás Almagro, Juan Mónaco or rising stars like Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori are also on the list. Marcel Granollers and Marc López will compete in the doubles tournament on the clay of the Real Club de Tennis Barcelona.

The 19th edition of the Latin American Film Festival in Lleida ended last weekend after showing 117 films from 14 different countries. Argentine film director Gustavo Garzón’s movie 'Por un tiempo' (‘For a time’) had its world premiere while honorary awards were delivered to Spanish actor José Coronado and Mexican actor Damián Alcazar. 'Porcelain horse' (Mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas), directed by Ecuador’s Javier Andrade, won the Best Film Award. The budget for this year’s edition had been reduced by 24% and the Festival was forced to remove documentary and retrospective sections from the programme.

An 84th minute goal from Cesc Fàbregas gave Barça the points against a defensive Llevant (also called Levante) at the Camp Nou on Saturday evening. Now the Spanish League title is just six points away. Abidal returned to a starting line up after 14 months, which was roundly applauded. This wasn’t the most exuberant FC Barcelona performance of the campaign, but the league leaders showed patience as they controlled the game. Now the league title is one step closer… but first, it’s time for Bayern on Tuesday evening!

On Wednesday it became known that the Catalan Banc Sabadell would acquire Banco Gallego from the Spanish Fund for Orderly Banking Restructuring (FROB). However, the details of the operation were still being discussed and no detailed information was disclosed. On Friday, it was stated that the FROB – owned by the Spanish Government and the Bank of Spain – will inject €245 million of public money into Banco Gallego. In exchange, Banc Sabadell will buy the financial entity for the symbolical price of 1 euro but will take care of all the potential future losses.

The announcement coincides with the kick off of Catalonia’s International Tourism Fair (SITC), which takes place in Barcelona from the 19th to the 21st of April. The news was announced by Taleb Rifai, the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig. The United Nations tourism congress takes place every two years. Furthermore Rifai praised the SITC’s international projection, since this year it has replicated the number of participating countries and has the United Nations’ support.

The Barça Manager still insists that it is the Spanish League that matters most and that Levante won’t be an easy opponent. “Levante are on a bad run, but that sometimes works against you because they have nothing to lose” said Barça’s Assistant Manager Jordi Roura. In addition, he explained that Messi “has started training with the squad and he has dealt with his recovery period well and done everything he can to get fit again”.

In a symbolical action, 11 town halls have handed in their monthly taxes to the Catalan Tax Agency and not to the equivalent Spanish entity. The Catalan Government’s body stated that it is legal, since later they will transfer the money to the Spanish Tax Agency. However, with this action, the town halls involved wanted to lend their support to “Catalonia collecting its own taxes”. In fact, the Catalan Government collecting all the taxes in Catalonia is widely asked for by a majority of the Catalan society. This week the Catalan Executive announced a programme supporting the development of its own Treasury, in order to provide the Catalan Tax Agency with muscle and experience. Furthermore the Association of Pro-Independence Town Halls asked its members to stop paying their taxes to the Spanish Tax Agency and switch to the Catalan one instead.

The President of FC Barcelona, Sandro, has announced at a meeting of the club’s Senate that he intends to stand again for the Barça presidency in elections scheduled for 2016. “My intention is to stand for re-election and ask the members to keep their confidence in my ability to deal with the challenges we have set ourselves”, he said. “We are readdressing the financial situation”, Rosell emphasised. In addition, he also explained that “the objective is to reach the end of this mandate with a debt of around 200 million, a sustainable figure”.

Tradebe’s new terminal for petrochemical products has 29 tanks for storing bulk liquids, with a total capacity of 450,000 cubic metres. The new facility represented a €65 million investment, occupying 60,000 square metres and creating 27 direct jobs. Tradebe is one of the leading companies in industrial waste management in Spain, with a significant presence in the United States and the United Kingdom as well as having subsidiary companies in France and Turkey. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, and the Spanish Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, participated in the unveiling ceremony. Mas asked Pastor to prioritise “productive” investments, such as Barcelona Port’s railway connections.

The offer, presented by Banc Sabadell, has won the tender for the acquisition of Banco Gallego, which was nationalised and owned by the Spanish Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB). Banco Gallego was partially owned by Novagalicia Banco, the private bank resulting from Nova Caixa Galicia. The FROB has announced its decision although it also explained that the final details are still “being negotiated”. In the last year and a half, Banc Sabadell has bought the former Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo, the business activity of Caixa Penedès (part of Banco Mare Nostrum) and now Banco Gallego.

The new retail outlet mall will create 1,000 new jobs. The Spanish company has bought a plot of land of 25,000 square metres from the Catalan Government to build the macro shopping centre in Viladecans, near Barcelona El Prat Airport. The mall will have top brands at low prices and it is expected to attract not only locals but also many tourists. The land had been reserved since 2006 for the creation of a business hub for companies related to the aero-spatial and mobility sectors, but the project was finally aborted due to the economic crisis. Greater Barcelona already has a similar mall 30 km north of the Catalan capital, while the new macro outlet will be less than 15 km south.

54% of Catalonia’s external sales go to the international market while the remaining 46% go to the rest of Spain. The number of Catalan companies which sold their products outside of Spain in 2012 was 45,000 enterprises, representing a 6.3% increase in relation to the 2011 figures and 11,554 more companies than at the start of the economic crisis. The export sector represented €58.28 billion, which was 28% of Catalonia’s GDP in 2012. The figure represented a 5% increase compared to 2011 and a 15% growth on data from before the economic crisis. Sales outside the European Union increased by 16% last year, especially in Oceania (61%), Africa (24%) and Latin America (21%).