Less than six weeks before they go to the polls, Spanish voters are being showered with unprecedented pledges of generous tax cuts, ranging from universal rebates to the favourable treatment of working women.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Socialist prime minister who is seeking a second term in a general election on March 9, is facing a barrage of criticism after promising a €400 ($591, £297) tax rebate for 13m wage-earners and pensioners. The measure is expected to cost €5bn, or one-quarter of the government’s fiscal surplus of 2 per cent of gross domestic product.