This paper searches the empiral validity of the Ricardian proposition of fiscal impotence in the Spanish Economy. A brief review of the relevant empirical evidence derived from studies with real variables is first presented. A conventional consumption function is specified to test the effects of changes in tranfers on private consumption and a revised version of the Kormendi's model is estimated. The estimates presented here show that increases in tranfers and in governement spending have a substantial positive effect on private consumption, while increases in taxes net of tranfers and public debt interest payments and corporate retained earnings depress private consumption.