Luis de Guindos said Monday in a radio interview the government found out only early last week how bad the numbers were and had no choice but to act quickly by raising income and property taxes, despite an election campaign pledge not to.
De Guindos said the 8 percent figure — up from a 6 percent forecast by the outgoing Socialist government — would have come out eventually and would have almost certainly led to a punishing rise in Spain’s borrowing costs.
The government acted quickly with tax rises and spending cuts — a package totaling about €15 billion ($19 billion) — to stay ahead of events, he said.
