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{{ANEObra|Serie=Monographs from the National Atlas of Spain|Logo=[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|left|50x50px|link=]]|Título=The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain|Subtítulo=First wave: from the first cases to the end of June 2020|Año=2021|Contenido=New content}}

{{ANENavegacionCapitulo (monografía COVID-19)|estructura=[[Estructura temática (monografía COVID-19)|Estructura temática]]|seccion=[[Social,_economic_and_environmental_effects|Social, economic and environmental effects]]|capitulo=Public Finance}}

The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the need for public action to lessen the noxious effects of social and natural events that may seriously disrupt the smooth running of societies. Public action is financed by tax revenue. Scrutinising public resources requires assessing the two basic composing elements, i.e. public revenue and public expenditure.

These graphs are displayed together with four maps showing the amount of taxes collected in each region in 2020 for each of the different taxes, as well as the variation in the amount of taxes collected from 2019 to 2020.

These graphs are displayed together with four maps showing the amount of taxes collected in each region in 2020 for each of the different taxes, as well as the variation in the amount of taxes collected from 2019 to 2020.

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</ul></div>An overall assessment of these figures allows sketching some general lines of interpretation. Firstly, the high degree of specialisation in tourism in the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears) and the Canary Islands (Canarias) extended throughout their entire economic and social structures, including employment. This factor seriously limited the capacity of the public administrations to act by undermining their budgetary resources. Secondly, and conversely, diversified regional economies, such as the Region of Murcia (Región de Murcia), Navarre (Navarra), Cantabria and Extremadura, where industry and the agri-food sector account for a sizeable part of the productive structure, proved more resilient to the impacts of the pandemic. Consequently, more attention shall be paid to the productive sectors that are truly essential for the smooth running of society. Thirdly, the difficulties observed in industrial regions, such as Catalonia (Catalunya/Cataluña) and the Basque Country (Euskadi/País Vasco), and those hinged on the tertiary economy, such as the Region of Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid), were probably derived from their intense insertion and, therefore, increased exposure to global economic flows. Furthermore, for the Region of Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid) and Catalonia (Catalunya/Cataluña) [more specifically Barcelona], being the headquarters of large corporations at a time when many were returning negative results entailed significant effects on tax revenue.

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[[File:Europe_Public-deficit-in-the-member-states-of-the-European-Union_2011-2020_map_18392_eng.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Public deficit in the member states of the European Union. 2011-2020. Europe. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Europe_Public-deficit-in-the-member-states-of-the-European-Union_2011-2020_map_18392_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Europe_Public-deficit-in-the-member-states-of-the-European-Union_2011-2020_map_18392_eng.zip Data]. ]]

On the one hand, the sharp drop in economic activity forced implementing and extending direct support mechanisms, such as furloughs, which mobilised large amount of resources to cushion the impact of the pandemic on employment and on the business fabric and pave the way for a rapid recovery. On the other hand, basic public services, such as health and education, required additional funding to serve the population directly affected by the disease, roll out a mass vaccination programme, and ease non-face-to-face teaching modes and smaller student/teacher ratios.

The combined public deficit of all Spanish public administrations (national, regional and local) was close to 12% in 2020, i.e. the highest amongst EU states, and slightly over the public deficit recorded in the depths of the great recession of 2008-2013. No other major EU economy registered such an acute rise in public deficit. France and Italy were significantly impacted, registering deficits of around 9%, whilst Germany and the Netherlands managed to limit theirs to 4%. It shall be noted, however, that Central European states have healthier public accounts due to having been less affected by the 2008-2013 financial crisis. Spain obtained therefore significant relief from monetary easing policies and financial support. However, it could equally be severely affected by a return to the constraints of the Stability and Growth Pact, and what this return to budgetary discipline should look like will be a major political issue in the European Union in the coming years.