Spain unveils $36 billion austerity budget

MADRID – Spain has unveiled a draft 2012 budget that seeks to cut the deficit by euro27 billion ($36 billion) through spending cuts and a tax hike on large companies.

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Friday the blueprint calls for cutting central government ministry spending by an average of nearly 17 percent.

Civil servant wages will remain frozen. She called the budget proposal severely austere, but essential.