03/05/2024.- Compared to other European countries (like France or Germany), salaries in Spain rank fairly low. Yearly salaries in Spain are similar to salaries in Italy and Slovenia, but still remain far from those registered in northern European countries. That said, a distinction must be made between minimum wage on one hand, and the average salary in Spain, on the other. Continue reading →
05/04/2024.- Payroll in Spain: Hiring and compensating employees is one of the most complicated parts in the process of establishing operations in a new country. Although companies have much to gain when establishing operations in Spain, Payroll in Spain is not easy. With complicated and often-changing regulations, it can be particularly difficult for employers in our country to understand such policies and accurately reflect them on employee paychecks. Continue reading →
02/02/2024.- Spain’s solidarity tax on large fortunes is a temporary tax imposed on the wealthiest residents to help the government deal with the cost of living crisis.
Introduced by Law 38/2022 of 27 December 2022, it applies to: Continue reading →
03/01/2024- The Spanish tax year ends on 31st December and Spain’s Tax Agency has already announced the 2024 taxpayer calendar, outlining the schedule for submitting personal income tax, corporate income tax and wealth declarations (among others) for the fiscal year 2023.
The personal income tax (PIT) -known as IRPF in Spain- campaign is set to kick off on April 3, 2024 (earlier than in previous years). Tax declarations that necessitate direct debit payment must be submitted by June 26. However, the overall final deadline for filing the tax return is July 1, after which any late submissions may attract penalties.
In general, a PIT return should be filed by a person resident in Spain whose gross employment income exceeds EUR 22,000 (for joint and separate returns) during the calendar year or EUR 15,000 for taxpayers who obtain employment income from more than one payer if the amounts obtained by the second and subsequent payers exceed EUR 1,500. Individuals resident in Spain are also required to file a tax return if they obtain other personal incomes in excess of certain amounts specified by law.
Annual CIT returns must be filed within 25 calendar days following the six months subsequent to the end of the tax year (if the tax year coincides with the calendar year, the return must be filed not later than July 25th 2024).
Without prejudice of the above, three advance payments of the annual tax payment must be made during the first 20 calendar days of April, October, and December.
The above are the main calendar dates to have in mind. However, you may check the complete Spain’s 2024 taxpayer calendar in the this link from the Tax Agency.
If you need any further information, do not hesitate to contact us at www.avantges.com
27/12/2022.- Currently, as a general rule (self-employed workers older than age 47 have an adjusted contribution wage base), self-employed persons can choose their contribution level as long as it falls within their income bracket. The general rate is 30.6% for people with a monthly social security wage base between €960.60 and €4,139.40. This choice is totally free and can be modified in the future. However, social security in Spain is going to change for self-employed workers. Continue reading →
01/08/2022.- After months of negotiations, Spain’s Social Security Ministry on Wednesday July 20th was given the green light by self-employed in Spain groups ATA, UPTA and Uatae to change the way the country’s 3.3 million autónomos (self-employed workers) pay for social security coverage. Continue reading →
01/03/2022.- On 31 December 2021, Royal Decree-Law 32/2021, of 28 December, on urgent measures for labour reform, the guarantee of employment stability and the transformation of the labour market, came into force.
This legal text –ratified last week by the Spanish Parliament-, wich restricts temporary employment and provides internal flexibility, entails the amendment of some of the sections of the Workers’ Statute. The modifications can be broken down into four points: temporary contracts, outsourcing, internal flexibility mechanisms (ERTEs), and the collective bargaining system.
The labour reform mainly targets temporary contracts, with the aim of reducing the high rate of temporary employment in the Spanish labour market and, consequently, strengthening permanent contracts.
For this reason, there is a new express mention to the rebuttable presumption of the indefinite nature of the employment contract, which is included in the first section of Article 15 of the Workers’ Statute.
Specifically, the labour reform covers training contracts (Article 11 of the Workers’ Statute), short-term contracts (Article 15 of the Workers’ Statute) and permanent-discontinuous contracts (Article 16 of the Workers’ Statute).
i) Training contracts
The first thing one notices upon reading the new article 11 of the Worker’s Statute is that the two pre-established training contract categories are named differently. Therefore, the apprenticeship contract will from now on be known as combined training contract (Contrato formativo por alternancia) and the traineeship contract, as professional training contract (Contrato para la obtención de la práctica professional).
As for the combined training contract, while the previous regulation set its minimum duration at 6 months and its maximum at 3 years, the current one establishes its minimum duration at 3 months and its maximum at 2 years.
The subjective scope of this contract covers both employees lacking professional qualifications and university or superior courses’ students, provided that there is an agreement with the respective educational bodies.
This contract does not allow the application of a trial period.
The effective working time of the person hired under this type of contract may not exceed 65% of the ordinary working day during the first year of the contract, and 85% during the second year. Likewise, their remuneration may not be less than 60% and 75%, respectively, of that established by the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Regarding the professional training the contract, while the previous regulation established it maximum duration at 2 years, the current one establishes it at 1 year. Its minimum duration remains at 6 months.
The subjective scope of this contract covers persons who are hired within three years since they completed their studies (the previous regulation set a maximum period of 5 years).
This contract allows for a trial period of one month, unless otherwise stipulated by the relevant Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Lastly, remuneration under this contract may not be less than 60% of that established by the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement, and in no case may it be less than the minimum inter-professional wage, proportional to effective time worked.
ii) Short-term contracts
One of the main changes of the labour reform is the suppression of the provision of services contract (Contrato de obra y servicio), regulated until now in Article 15.1.a) of the Workers’ Statute.
Additionally, the contract based on circumstances of production (Contrato eventual) and the interim contract (Contrato de interinidad) while maintained, are both subject to modifications.
The contract based on circumstances of production will have a maximum duration of six months, which may be extended by the relevant Collective Bargaining Agreement up to 12 months.
While the old regulation only allowed this kind of contract when the increase of production was unforeseeable, the new regulation also allows it on occasional, foreseeable circumstances. However, this new option is only allowed for a maximum of 90 non-consecutive days per natural year and per employer.
This contract may be used to cover the holiday periods of other employees.
In relation to the substitution contract (former interim contract), it may be used to cover temporarily vacant positions or reductions in working hours due to legally established causes, as well as to cover a position while the corresponding selection process is carried out. In the latter case, the duration of the contract shall not exceed three months.
The new regulation provides the possibility of starting the contract during the 15 days prior to the absence of the person to be replaced, so that they can acquire the knowledge required for the performance of their duties.
Overall, new limits will apply to all kind of temporary contracts. Until now, any person hired under two or more temporary contracts, for 24 months in a period of 30 months, was (automatically) considered a permanent employee of the company (former Article 15.5 of the Workers’ Statute).
With the reform, this threshold is lowered, and employment relationships established through two or more temporary contracts for 18 months within a period of 24 months are automatically considered indefinite.
iii) Permanent-discontinuous contracts
One of the biggest difficulties this type of contract presented under the old regulation was its distinction from the indefinite part-time contract (applicable when the working seasons were certain and stable).
Last December’s reform puts an end to this confusion, making permanent-discontinuous contracts possible not only for activities on dates that are not foreseeable, but also for seasonal and planned activities.
Furthermore, this type of contract will be available to cover positions related to commercial or administrative contracts.
Regarding outsourcing of services, the Royal Decree-Law provides a new sixth paragraph to 42nd article of the Workers’ Statute. This new piece of legislation establishes that the Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable to subcontracted workers is the one applicable to the activity carried out in accordance to the framework of the contract.
It seems that this new paragraph provides a response to the problem found in multiservice companies, as the activity carried out by the relevant employees in accordance to the framework of the contract sometimes may not coincide with the Collective Bargaining Agreement applied to their employer (i.e. the provider).
It is relevant to mention that this provision will apply, provided that the employer does not have its own Collective Bargaining Agreement approved, in which case the latter will prevail.
That said, it is not clear from the labour reform whether the new paragraph refers to the outsourcing of company’s own-activity or also includes those that are not. As a result, we will have to wait for the case law to interpret the scope of application of this paragraph.
Following the massive use of internal flexibility mechanisms (ERTE’s) as a palliative measure for the impact of the health crisis generated by COVID-19, the reform has included various amendments to Article 47 of the Workers’ Statute, which regulates ERTE’s based on Economic, Technical, Organisation or Productive (ETOP) and force majeure causes, as well as introduced a new article, 47 bis (referred to below).
With regard to ERTE’s based on force majeure and ETOP causes, the main changes introduced by the labour reform are to be found in the time limits for both their processing and their validity. In that sense, the ERTE negotiating committee will now have a period of 7 days to set up, instead of 5. In those cases in which the company does not have employee representation, this period will be 10 days (previously 15 days).
Similarly, the consultation period in companies with fewer than 50 employees may not exceed 7 days.
In addition, there is a new provision that allows extending the ERTE’s application, by means of a new and limited consultation period.
On the other hand, the new article, 47 bis, creates a new type of ERTE, called the “RED mechanism”. This mechanism will allow the suspension of contracts and the reduction of working hours, provided such mechanism is previously authorised by the Council of Ministers, in response to emerging circumstances.
This new internal flexibility mechanism is developed in two sub-modalities:
– Cyclical ERTE: designed to palliate the consequences of global economic crises.
– Sectoral ERTE: aimed at sectors of activity that are affected by permanent changes on the market which generate a professional transition.
Both Article 47 and 47 bis regulate the possibility for the company to apply bonuses in Social Security contributions. This possibility is conditional on the provision of professional training aimed at adapting affected employees to new market circumstances, as well as the commitment to maintain the level of employment during the six months following the application of the measure.
In the area of collective bargaining, two articles of the Workers’ Statute have been amended by the labour reform. On one hand, article 84.2, which regulates the priority of application of the company’s own Collective Agreement over the sector Collective Agreement. On the other hand, Article 86.4, regarding the extension of revoked Collective Agreements.
In relation to the first of the amended articles, minimum wages are removed from the list of categories which the company’s own Collective Agreement has priority of application over the sector Collective Agreement.
With regard to the extension of revoked Collective Agreements, they will remain in force, even if one year has passed since they were revoked, provided that the parties submit to available mediation or arbitration mechanisms.
All of these different measures enter into force as of 31 December 2021, except in the case of the new regulation on temporary contracts, which is subject to a transitional period.
Temporary contracts signed before 31 December 2021 will remain in force under the previous legislation.
Contracts signed between 1 January 2022 and 30 March 2022 may be governed by the previous legislation (ie. not affected by the labour reform), but will be terminated after six months.
From 31 March 2022, the new regime for temporary contracts will be fully applicable.
21/12/2020.- The Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020. All movements of goods are expected to be subject to new formalities and customs controls from 1 January 2021. This will have a significant impact on cross-border relations between Spain and the UK. From a tax perspective, the impact of Brexit will be of especial importance on trade and transactions and their direct (PIT, CIT, NRIT) and indirect (VAT) taxation. Continue reading →
01/10/2020.- Thanks to a last minute agreement with all social agents (just two days before the expiration of the current regulation), the Spanish government approved yesterday the extension of the temporary layoffs programs (ERTE) until January 31, 2021.
In the case of the new ERTE modalities, to which companies from any sector will be able to take advantage, two types are distinguished: ERTE due to activity impediment as a result of restrictions adopted by the authorities (for example, nightlife companies), and the ERTE of activity limitation, intended for companies that see their activity altered when a local, regional or state authority limits, for example, capacity and hours.
In the case of ERTEs for Covid19 resurgence, business quotas will be exempted (from October 1st, 2020). There will be 100% exemptions when the activity of a company with less than 50 employees is halted, and 90% if it has more than 50.
In the event the Spanish authorities limit the normal development of the business there will be (effective as of September 1st, 2020) company exemptions of 100% in October for workers affected by the ERTE. This declines to 90% in November, 70% in December and 60% in January 2021 if the company had less than 50 workers on February 29 of this year. If it had more, the deductions will be 90%, 80%, 60% and 50% for each month in the October-January period.
The extension of the force majeure ERTE will consider the sectors most affected by the pandemic, including, of course, the tourism sector. The ERTE for these sectors will have quota exemptions of 85% for each month of the period October 2020-January 2021, if the company had a staff of less than 50 workers as of February 29 of this year. This will be cut to 75% if it had more than 50 employees.
Should you need any further information regarding Payroll in Spain, do not hesitate to contact our team at Avantges.
27/02/2020.- Gender Equality Plans in Spain: As readers may remember, Decree-Law 6/2019 (“on the urgent measures to guarantee equal treatment and opportunities for women and men in employment and occupation”) included new measures to promote equality between men and women in the workplace (it also included various provisions to gradually increase statutory paternity leave to 16 weeks by 2021). Mainly, the new regulation extended the existing obligation to implement a gender equality plans in Spain to companies with 50 or more employees (previously 250 or more employees). Continue reading →
12/03/2019.- Today, the Royal Decree-Law 8/2019 dated 12th March has been approved and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) which includes, among other measures, the obligation for companies to record the working hours of their staff on a daily basis, and thus increase the control of working hours in Spain. Continue reading →
15/01/2019.- The European Union Court of Justice recently amended its position and clarified its criterion on the compensation regime applicable to temporary contracts in Spain.
As readers may remember, the EU Court of Justice held on of 14 September 2016 (Diego Porras case) that the refusal to grant compensation for termination of the temporary employment contract was contrary to Clause 4 of the Framework Agreement on fixed-term work annexed to Directive 1999/70,’while allowing for the award of such compensation, to comparable permanent workers’. Continue reading →
9/05/2018.- Work Permit in Spain. Obtaining a work permit in Spain (as well as a work and residence permit) is a lengthy and bureaucratic process. The main reason why is the (still) high unemployment rate in Spain, despite the fact Spain’s employment and economic growth have been steadily rising in the last few months. As a result, the immigration system favours the hiring of Spanish nationals over foreign nationals.
However, work permits in Spain are easier to obtain if foreign applicants fall under one of the preference categories, namely investors, entrepreneurs, highly qualified professionals, researchers and employees under inter-company transfers. Continue reading →
24/11/2017.- Voting Leave in Spain. When and How can an employee take a leave to vote?
As you may be aware, Catalan elections will take place in less than one month time (next December 21st). Continue reading →
10/07/2017.- By means of this post web will explain briefly how to pay taxes in Spain (two ways). Once calculated the tax liability, the relevant amount must be paid on or before the tax is filed in the Tax Office, by means of any of the following two methods: Continue reading →
03/02/2017.- From January 1st, 2017 paid paternity leave in Spain for the birth adoption or foster care of a child (preadoptive, permanent or simple) has been increased from 2 to 4 weeks. Continue reading →
30/06/2016.- Taxation in Spain has become increasingly complex during the last few years. Among other changes, the Spanish tax administration requires all companies to implement an electronic correspondence procedure, the Dirección Electrónica Habilitada (D.E.H.). All communications from the tax administration, called Notificaciones Electrónicas Obligatorias (N.E.O.), now pass through this route. Continue reading →
31/01/2016
Como muchos lectores ya conocerán, la Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) ha venido trabajando en los últimos años en el nuevo sistema de liquidación directa de cotizaciones (Proyecto Cret@) a la Seguridad Social, que debería simplificar el trámite de gestión de nóminas y seguros sociales de los trabajadores. Continue reading →
14/12/2015
Con fecha 30 de octubre de 2015 se ha publicado en el Boletín Oficial del Estado la Ley 48/2015, de 29 de octubre, de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para el año 2016 (LPGE). Sin perjuicio de los cambios que pudieran darse en sede parlamentaria, se exponen a continuación las novedades de índole fiscal que se contemplan en el Proyecto de Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para 2016:
27/11/2015
El pasado día 10 de Septiembre de 2015 se publicó en el BOE la Ley 31/2015, de 9 de Septiembre, por la que se modifica y actualiza la normativa en materia de autoempleo y se adoptan medidas de fomento y promoción del trabajo autónomo.
A continuación, exponemos las tres novedades principales introducidas por dicha normativa.
Continue reading →
Orden HAP/2178/2015, de 9 de octubre, por la que se eleva el límite exento de la obligación de aportar garantía en las solicitudes de aplazamiento o fraccionamiento a 30.000 euros
22/10/2015
Los contribuyentes que presenten solicitudes de aplazamiento o fraccionamiento de pago de deudas tributarias hasta 30.000 euros quedarán exentos de aportar garantías para su concesión, de acuerdo con la Orden HAP/2178/2015, de 9 de octubre, publicada el 20 de Octubre de 2015 y que regula el nuevo límite para la exención, situado hasta ahora en los 18.000 euros.
28/09/2015
La reforma de la Ley General Tributaria, que el Gobierno ha llevado a cabo para poder publicar la lista de morosos con Hacienda, entrará en vigor el 12 de Octubre, después de haberse publicado el martes 22 de Septiembre en el Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE).
Los objetivos esenciales que persiguen las modificaciones son los siguientes:
27/08/2015
So far 2015 has been an exciting year (from a tax point of view) due to the major reforms we have seen in the past few months. Among other changes, we would now like to draw our readers´ attention to the recent amendments made to the Non-Resident Income Tax Law (NRIT Law) and, in particular, to the tax treatment of capital gains obtained by non-residents on the transfer of shares of Spanish (non-real estate) companies.
The domestic NRIT Law in force until December 31 2014 stated that capital gains obtained by EU residents on the transfer of shares of Spanish entities could only be taxed in Spain if a) the underlying assets were mainly real state located in Spain; or b) when the EU shareholder owned at least 25% of the share capital or equity of the Spanish company during the 12 months period preceding the sale. Please, be aware that capital gains obtained by non-EU residents on the sale of Spanish non-listed entities were always taxed in Spain unless a tax treaty provided otherwise.
15/07/2015
El pasado día 15 de junio de 2015 se publicó en el BOE la Orden ESS/1187/2015, de 15 de junio (en vigor a partir del próximo 1 de diciembre de 2015), que desarrolla el Real Decreto 625/2014, de 18 de julio, por el que se regularon determinados aspectos de la gestión y control de los procesos por incapacidad temporal en los primeros 365 días de su duración.
Dicha orden, que afecta, principalmente, a la expedición de los partes médicos de baja, de confirmación y de alta, persigue ahorrar trámites burocráticos adaptando la emisión de los partes a la duración estimada de cada proceso.
Mediante este post queremos participar a nuestros lectores una novedad de última hora: Según ha anunciado hoy (día 2/07), se ha adelantado al día 1 de julio la rebaja del IRPF prevista para el 1 de enero de 2016.
Mediante este post acercaremos a nuestros lectores algunas de las novedades que, en materia de operaciones vinculadas, nos ha traído este ejercicio 2015. En general, podemos afirmar que las exigencias de la anterior regulación se han flexibilizado, en especial, para las empresas pequeñas y medianas (hasta 45 millones de facturación). Siendo más concretos, entre otras novedades, creemos conveniente destacar las siguientes: Continue reading →
Este artículo tiene como objeto analizar una reciente sentencia de la Sala de lo Social de la AN (de fecha 20/02/2015) que concluye que si los trabajadores contratados a tiempo parcial para realizar su jornada emplean el mismo número de días de trabajo que los trabajadores a jornada completa comparables, tienen derecho a percibir el plus de transporte en la misma cuantía que éstos sin descuento o minoración alguna. Únicamente si usan menos días de trabajo se aplicaría la regla de proporcionalidad en función de los días trabajados.
Mediante este post analizaremos dos novedades fiscales contenidas en el Real Decreto-Ley 1/2015, que vienen a corregir algunos cambios en su día introducidos por la reforma fiscal de 2014 y que habían generado mucha polémica. Nos referimos a la obligación de presentación de la declaración del Impuesto sobre Sociedades por parte de asociaciones, clubes deportivos, ONG y otras entidades sin fines lucrativos y la exclusión de la posibilidad de aplicar la deducción por familia numerosa en el IRPF en algunos supuestos.
Con la finalidad de fomentar la necesidad de reducir los niveles de desempleo en la franja poblacional de más de 40 años de edad o personas en riesgo de exclusión social, el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona ha decidido iniciar un nuevo proyecto de ayudas a las empresas denominado “Pla Compromís per l’Ocupació a Barcelona”.
Se ha publicado recientemente en el BOE el Real Decreto-ley 1/2015, de 27 de febrero (RDL), de mecanismo de segunda oportunidad, reducción de carga financiera y otras medidas de orden social (BOE, 28-02-2015), que contiene una serie de medidas en el ámbito del empleo y la seguridad social que, entre otros aspectos, se refieren al fomento del empleo indefinido.
El pasado día 16 de febrero 2015, se publicó en el Boletín Oficial del Estado, la Instrucción de la Dirección General del Registro y del Notariado (“DGRN”) sobre legalización de libros de los empresarios en aplicación del artículo 18 de la Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización (“Ley de Emprendedores”).
Con entrada en vigor el 1 de febrero y efectos desde el pasado 1 de enero de 2015, se ha publicado en el BOE de 31/01/2015 la Orden ESS/86/2015, de 30 de enero, por la que se desarrollan las normas legales de cotización a la Seguridad Social, desempleo, protección por cese de actividad, Fondo de Garantía Salarial y formación profesional, contenidas en la Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para el año 2015.
Mediante este artículo, pretendemos enviar a nuestros lectores un último recordatorio respecto de la posibilidad para las empresas de modificar el volumen de pagos fraccionados a cuenta del Impuesto sobre Sociedades, lo que deben hacer (si lo creen conveniente) antes de fin de mes.
El pasado 12 de noviembre entró en vigor la Orden ESS/2098/2014 (publicada en el BOE el día anterior), por el cual se modifica el anexo de la Orden de 27 de diciembre de 1994, por la que se aprobó el modelo de recibo individual de salario, estableciéndose, de este modo, un nuevo modelo del recibo de salario de los trabajadores.
En el BOE del 30 de diciembre de 2014 se ha publicado el Real Decreto-ley 17/2014, de 26 de diciembre, de medidas de sostenibilidad financiera de las comunidades autónomas y entidades locales y otras de carácter económico, cuya disposición adicional decimoséptima incluye una prórroga de la “tarifa plana” de 100 euros en las cotizaciones empresariales por contingencias comunes a la Seguridad Social por la contratación indefinida de nuevos trabajadores hasta el próximo 31 de marzo de 2015.
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In recent years, Spain has fallen behind the rest of the OECD in terms of tax reform. Its corporate income tax of 30 percent is higher than the OECD average of 25 percent and its income tax is high and very progressive compared to other member countries.
Under the Spanish self-billing procedure, a customer can issue an invoice in the name of and on behalf of the supplier, for the goods and services supplied to the customer. The set-up of a self-billing process in Spain requires the signature of a specific legal self-billing contract between provider and customer, transferring the responsibility to create the invoice to the customer (the buyer).
By means of this new post, we would like to provide readers with a brief overview of the situation in Spain with regard the Illegal Assignment of Workers, including the requirements to be fulfilled in order to comply with the Law, the potential consequences in case of non-fulfilment and a reference to recent Law cases.
Changes to Spain’s traditional rigid labour laws were introduced on February 10th 2012 by means of the RDL[1] 3/2012, de 10 de febrero, de medidas urgentes para la reforma del mercado laboral. New regulation entered into force the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (B.O.E.) on February 11th, 2012. A few months later, in July, said regulation was further developed by means of Law 3/2012, de 6 de Julio, and it came into force on July 8th, 2012.
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