Self employed persons (autonomos) and small companies represent 95% of the Spanish economy. In particular, autónomos are very relevant to the growth of the Spanish economy although there have been very few incentives to stimulate the creation of small business from a tax and social security perspective. The Spanish Government made a timid effort in […]
Category: Articles
Spence Clarke & Co. shed light on various topics related to Taxation and Accountancy
The New Obligation of Gibraltar Financial Institutions to Provide Automatic Exchange of Tax Information to The Spanish Tax Office
As part of the recent agreements of exchange of tax information subscribed by Gibraltar for cooperation in tax matters, the Gibraltar financial institutions will be reporting to the Spanish tax office the relevant tax information of all their account holders, including income on earnings, tax withheld and tax residency status. The first reporting will take […]
1.6 Million Companies fail to file annual accounts each year in Spain with no consequences
Its hard to credit this but a recent report in an online newspaper exposes the parlous state of Spain’s compliance with EU rules (and its own laws) on company accounts filings. It seems that 2/3rds of Spanish companies completely ignore the regulations and they do so evidently with complete impunity. The annual accounts, or more […]
New law in Andalucía to regulate holiday letting
A new law was passed on 3/2/2016 to force landlords in Andalucia to register properties used for holiday letting. The fines for ignoring this law are truly draconian with a minimum of 18,000€ and maximum of 150,000€. An estimated 400,000 properties in Andalucia will be affected. This law has been several years in coming and […]
The new international disclosure rules
More than 90 countries have now signed up to the automatic information system, including most tax havens and the other bad boys like Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Cyprus (to name but a few!). There is now no place left to hide except places where you would have to be very brave to leave your money. […]
Taxing a rent free commercial property
Picture the scene: with youth unemployment in Spain currently hovering around the 50 per cent mark for under 25s (source Eurostat), you decide to give your son a helping hand by letting him set up business in an empty shop you happen to own. As he is your child and you don’t need the money, […]
Paying Company directors what they are worth
The dubious sight of well-paid businesspeople walking away from soon to be bankrupt companies—but not before pocketing millions of Euros (in some cases hundreds of millions of Euros)—rightly raised a stink, particularly with those less fortunate employees who lost their jobs and shareholders who lost their money. It was even more unedifying when directors at […]
Property owning companies: Don’t trust the bar stool experts!
Those of you who have lived in Spain for many years will probably have been regaled in the past with tales of how people had managed to escape tax liabilities by buying their properties through ‘holding companies’. In fact such ‘bar stool experts’ offering dubious advice still exist—although it is highly doubtful that they are […]
Taxing times for Spanish inheritance
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” So said American founding father Benjamin Franklin but, in the case of Spain, such a view could be seen as a little simplistic. Yes, everyone dies at some point and then inheritance tax will be due, but how much and where it […]
Spain’s new exit tax system and how it affects those leaving the country
Spain is one of a number of countries that charge tax on unrealised capital gains when their tax residents leave the country, and it has had a new law in place since January 1, 2015. We have set out a series of Q & As to answer your basic queries about how this law might […]