Spain’s public sector debt to be exposed

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Madrid plans to arrange payment of up to €30bn in overdue bills for rubbish collection and other services owed by municipalities, a move that will benefit suppliers but will also help to expose the true size of the country’s public sector debt.

“It’s about restoring order, it’s about knowing what’s there and dealing with it once and for all,” Maria Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, deputy prime minister, said after a cabinet meeting on Friday that agreed the first part of the programme.

Town halls must give details of overdue bills by March 15, and explain how they will deal with them by March 31.

Spain’s accumulated public debt was officially due to reach 67.8 per cent of gross domestic product at the end of last year, one of the lowest figures among developed economies. The previous Socialist government said public debt would stabilise at about 70 per cent of GDP this year and next.

full: http://liveweb.archive.org/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c020b7dc-6088-11e1-84dd-00144feabdc0.html

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