Since February 15, it is possible to request a grant of 200 euros to help with the shopping cart. However, getting it is not so easy. In the first place, it can only be ordered online, which already leaves a large number of people out, and on the other hand, you have to know how to navigate the electronic administration websites. What even more complex.
In practice it turns out that aid that can be very useful for a large part of the population, only ends up reaching a few. As already happened with the Minimum Vital Income, an endowment that is very showy to announce by the government ends up distributing very little.
Chaos to register. To request the help of 200 euros, it is necessary to enter the Tax Agency Headquarters and verify our identity. Here comes the first challenge. There is not just one method, but three. And none of them is simply a photo of our ID as it happens in Social Security. Spain has been modernizing the public administration, but there is still no unified system that the entire population knows how to use. For the help of 200 euros we can access with the electronic ID, the digital certificate or the Cl@ve PIN system.
Lots of personal data. Once inside it is not immediate either. You have to click on the Request and fill out a form with a large amount of data. In addition to the classic DNIs, telephone numbers and addresses, other less common boxes must also be filled in, such as the cadastral reference or a responsible declaration of cohabitation.
The Treasury is aware that many need help. The fact that many will not clarify is recognized by the Tax Agency, which has published from a step-by-step video to a frequently asked FAQ. In addition to this, the Treasury has created informative posters that it will place in different public offices.
Everything stretches over time. Until next March 31 there is room to request it, but then you have to add up to 3 more months to receive a response. That is to say, it is possible that for an applicant the beginning of summer arrives and they still do not know if they are going to grant it. It is possible to go to the web and access the section for Consultation of applications submitted, but again it is another step that for many is not trivial.
The mess of the autonomous communities. The problem of requesting help does not end with the web. It is the case that it is not always possible to do it by the announced routes. Depending on which autonomous community we live in, the mechanism may be different. Fortunately for the aid of 200 euros, the vast majority of citizens can request it in the same way.
The exception is if you have your tax domicile in the Basque Country or Navarra. These citizens must go to the respective autonomous institutions.
No explanations why you can only order online. Law 39/2015 establishes how this type of process should be. And among other aspects, it determines when to ask for help can only be done online or if there is the possibility of being attended in person. In the case of the 200 euros, despite being a general aid focused on people with fewer resources, it is established that it is only online.
From Civio they consulted with the administration and the answer was that it was so decreed by law. No further details have been provided, claiming that they do not have the obligation because, according to them, this information is not subject to the Transparency Law.
Tens of millions, a few thousand arrive. It is feared that with the help of the 200 euros something similar will happen to other aids. In the case of the social electricity bonus, some 310 million were invested, of which only 200,000 euros reached the most vulnerable households. 0.07%.
With the Minimum Vital Income, it was estimated that some 3 million people could request it, but only 600,000 people requested it. With the Digital Kit, of the 3,067 million, only 676 million have been given. On a large scale, of European funds, the level of awards does not reach 40%. Extended deadlines, complex administrative procedures to apply and excessive bureaucracy are some of the factors.
The rich receive twice as much aid. According to the OECD report “Income support for working-age individuals and their families”, in Spain more than 30% of State aid was received by the 20% of the richest households. How much did the poorest 20% of households receive? Only 12%. It is a very serious problem that exemplifies all the work that lies ahead in ensuring that aid reaches those who need it.
“The poor man is always under suspicion.” It is a phrase of the president of the Table of the Third Social Sector, Francina Alsina, to define why the aid does not reach the social mass so easily. In the report “The impact of administrative procedures on access to social benefits. A behavioral perspective”, it is verified that there is an “exaggerated bureaucracy” and it is proposed that the administration should “cross data” to expedite many procedures.
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