The Spanish proverb says that “he who divides and distributes, keeps the best part.” And Santos Cerdán, former Secretary of Organization of the PSOE – today in preventive detention for criminal organization, bribery and influence peddling – more than fulfilled the proverb. The guardian of socialist finances and responsible for ensuring the obligations of militants and positions decided unilaterally in 2022 to skip the statutes and fail to comply with the scale approved by the Federal Committee for the “donation” that militants are obliged to contribute to the party. Among the PSOE leaders themselves, it is known as the “revolutionary tax” that Ferraz is responsible for claiming from all members with an employment relationship linked to the party or an administration governed by its acronym. In other formations, such as in ERC, it is called “financial letter” and in others euphemistically “voluntary contribution”.
In the case of the PSOE, the committed contributions of PSOE officials are an economic resource provided for in their Statutes, in the current articles 58.f and 63 and followingand also in 380 of the Federal Regulations for the development of the Federal Statutes, in development of the provision of article 2.dos.a of the Political Party Financing Law. The payment of contributions, considered donations, is a commitment assumed by the militants, as stated in article 10 of the Federal Statutes, along with the ordinary fee. As such, they are communicated to the Tax Agency for the purposes of the corresponding personal income tax returns of the affiliates and positions.
Santos Cerdán made this contribution in his capacity as regional deputy in the Parliament of Navarra through the PSN on an annual basis. And he did so through effective deposit in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and through bank transfer in 2017. Specifically, he paid 1,500, 1,400 and 1,800 euros in the first three years and 1,200 in the last one. However, it does not appear among the documentation provided by the PSOE to the Supreme Court that it paid any amount in 2018.
In 2019, the year in which he was elected deputy for Navarra in Congress, he returned to comply with his statutory obligation in July. First, with a contribution of 238.94 euros, which increased to 384.64 euros in July of that year. Between March 2020 and September 2021, the monthly amount remained at a fixed amount of 400.95 euros, which was stopped paying during the months of October, November and December of that year and January 2022.
As of February 2022, the former Secretary of Organization of the PSOE resumed payment to the party with a fixed monthly fee of only 100 euros, which he paid until June 2025. It was precisely in 2022 when the Federal Committee of the PSOE held in January approved the last table of fees calculated on the gross annual income of their positions to determine the amount that each of them should contribute.
Only those who earn 1,999 euros gross per month are exempt from the payment, while a range of between 39 and 1,125 euros per month was established for those who earned between 2,000 and 11,500 euros gross per month. However, although since October 2021, Cerdán received a monthly net salary from Congress for his status as a deputy of 5,296 euros per month and was obliged to contribute to the party, according to what was approved by its highest body between congresses, between 200 and 250 euros per month, he decided unilaterally to reduce that amount to 100 euros. When his salary was paid by the PSOE in his capacity as a member of the Federal Executive Commission, he paid between 420 and 525 euros per month.
While Secretary of Organization, Cerdán also made an electoral microcredit of 3,000 euros by transfer, signing the corresponding contract that was returned with the corresponding interest, exactly 3,024.36 euros. And he also made a donation of 600 euros by transfer that was used for a collective inquiry made by the PSOE to the Carlos III Health Institute for Covid research.
From the documentation that the PSOE has delivered to the Supreme Court, from the scale approved by the party in its highest body between congresses and from the payrolls of various positions that elDiario.es has been able to collect, it is deduced that while Cerdán, as head of Organization, ensured with excessive zeal that all positions complied with what was stipulated, he did not comply with the amounts that he had to pay according to his salary. And the Organization frequently sends letters to workers on the payroll of the PSOE or the Socialist Group so that they can face the so-called revolutionary tax, even if they are not members and are not obliged to do so.
Sources from the socialist leadership have tried to downplay the repeated failure to comply with Cerdán's contribution in his last years as a member. So much so that Ferraz admits that there are several positions that ignore the scales and flout the Statutes with the argument that they are either going through a delicate economic situation or that they have to face too many expenses if they come from another constituency other than Madrid.
Other leaders with positions in the party or in the Government have, however, raised their hands upon learning of the pyrrhic contribution of the former Secretary of Organization before Rebeca Torró. Not in vain, a councilor from a small municipality in Madrid with a gross annual salary of 60,000 euros – more than 5,000 euros per month – contributes 340 euros to the party's coffers every month. A minister, 580 euros per month; an autonomous deputy from Madrid, 400 euros and an advisor to the Presidency of the Government, 188.
He who divides and distributes, you know, Cerdán assigned himself the best part.