The
majority
Popular
Party
of
Prime
Minister
Mariano
Rajoy
pushed
through
an
amendment
to
the
legislation
that
hikes
the
levy
to
7%
from
the
6%
that
had
originally
been
envisaged
in
the
austerity-racked
nation.
The
reforms
approved
by
the
Senate
–
Spain’s
upper
house
–
also
include
a
levy
on
nuclear,
large-scale
hydropower
and
solar-thermal.
Senator
Jesús
Alique
from
the
opposition
Socialists
condemned
the
new
tax
as
"confiscatory".
But
the
government
says
the
levy
is
needed
to
address
Spain’s
so-called
“tariff
deficit”.
Spain’s
energy
system
has
amassed
a
€25bn
($32.71bn)
deficit
because
the
government…
