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Black Friday in Spain: What you should be aware of

Here's what you need to know about the Black Friday sales in Spain in 2022, from when they start to which retailers are offering discounts and why the sales aren't always as good as they're made out to be.

Published: 23 November 2022 11:04 CET
Black Friday in Spain: What you should be aware of
Many shops in Spain put the prices of their products up before Black Friday, so that the discounts they then apply aren't really bargains for shoppers. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

Black Friday is the day when some of Spain’s biggest retailers hold huge sales and give massive discounts (or so they claim) in the run-up to the start of the Christmas shopping season.

The tradition originated in the US as it was held the day after Thanksgiving.

READ ALSO: Where Americans can celebrate Thanksgiving

While Spain doesn’t generally celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday, it does however go in for Black Friday in a big way, along with many other countries around the world.

Spain began getting in on the Black Friday action in 2011 when the regulations on promotions and sales changed.

When is Black Friday?

This year, Black Friday will be held on Friday November 25th, but many companies and online retailers decide to hold sales throughout the month or even extend them for a whole week instead of just one day.

For example, tech store MediaMarkt began giving discounts on November 1st and will continue its sales until November 30th, while Mr. Wonderful began its discounts early too on November 18th.

Inditex group (which includes clothes stores Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho and Stradivarious) will publish their discounts online on Thursday November 24th.

Many stores will also extend their offers until Monday November 28th, which has become known as Cyber Monday. On this day, more tech companies and online retailers will be offering discounts too.

What will there be discounts on?

There will be Black Friday sales in Spain on everything from fashion and beauty to sports equipment, homeware and technology, among others.

Businesses are also allowing the return periods to be extended until January 6th 2023 or even into February, so that people can start their Christmas shopping early.

Spanish stores such as Mango, Zara and El Corte Inglés will all be having sales, as well as international and online retailers such as Amazon and Primark.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea will be doing something a little different this year, having a Green Friday where they’ll buy back some of your old furniture. 

According to a study by online marketing company Webloyalty, it is expected that online spending will grow by 25 percent compared to 2021, despite the rise in the cost of living and the financial squeeze many are experiencing.

Are Black Friday sales in Spain really that good?

Research conducted by Spanish consumer watchdog OCU over the past seven years has proven that many shops put the prices of their products up before Black Friday, so that the discounts they then apply aren’t really bargains for shoppers, but businesses get to capitalise on the shopping frenzy. 

In 2021, OCU spent 30 days writing down prices for almost 17,000 products in 52 stores. Almost a third of them rose in price (32.5 percent of the products), 11.8 percent of which cost less in the week of Black Friday. Overall, an average price rise of 3.3 percent was calculated.

There’s even a Twitter hastag #timofertasBF ( abit like ‘ripofferBF’) where user post the products that claim to be on discount but really aren’t.

Therefore, when it comes to big purchases in particular, make sure that you’re familiar with the average price of the product before Black Friday by comparing prices online. That should help you to ascertain whether you’re actually getting a good offer. 

If it’s a top-of-the-range product that’s just been released, don’t expect it to be on sale, and if it is, you should be suspicious.

Watch out for Black Friday scams

Be aware that while Black Friday can mean some great bargains, it’s also a day that brings out scammers and people who are waiting to steal your personal details.

In the past, there have been situations where second-hand items never arrive, the setup of fake online stores and discounts that contain malware.

You should particularly look out for phishing scams, where people try to steal your identity or personal details and fraudulent text messages.

Experts agree that there are several ways to protect yourself against potential Black Friday fraudsters including avoiding suspicious links or online shops you’re not aware of, using only official websites, creating strong passwords, not trusting any discounts that seem way too good to be true and using online security software.

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TAXES

How foreigners in Spain’s capital can pay less tax with the new Mbappé Law

The regional government of Madrid is finalising the approval of the so-called Mbappé Law, a very favourable new personal income tax regime for foreigners who settle and invest in the Spanish capital.

Published: 23 April 2024 16:44 CEST
How foreigners in Spain's capital can pay less tax with the new Mbappé Law

Similar to Spain’s Beckham Law, introduced in 2005, this piece of legislation is named after a famous footballer who will be the first to benefit from lower tax rates, as will other foreigners in Madrid.

Kylian Mbappé is a French footballer who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain, but looks set to sign for Real Madrid this summer.

The objective of the right-wing Madrid government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso is to attract more foreign investment to the region with beneficial fiscal rates.

READ ALSO – Beckham Law: What foreigners need to know about Spain’s special tax regime

Unlike the Beckham though, the Mbappé Law is only designed to benefit foreigners who move to the region of Madrid, it’s not open to those who want to move elsewhere in Spain.

Also unlike the Beckham law, foreigners will only be able to reap the rewards of the Mbappé Law if they invest money into the region. This could be in the form of investments in companies or in vehicles, but it cannot include investments in property.

Specifically, applicants will be able to deduct 20 percent of all the money they invest in the Madrid region.

The law applies to regional personal income tax, which accounts for approximately half of entire tax payments in Spain, since the other part corresponds to the State’s collection.

Normally, a foreigner like Mbappé will be taxed in the highest income bracket, as they will earn well over €300,000 gross per year.

When the law is finally approved however, Mbappé could avoid paying the regional income tax entirely, in the event that 20 percent of his Madrid investments represent the same amount that he would have had to pay in taxes on his salary.

READ ALSO: Why you should move to this region in Spain if you want to pay less tax

How will the Mbappé Law work?

For example, if Mbappé earned €40 million gross (not his actual salary), he would normally be charged €18 million in personal income tax.

Of this, 24.5 percent would correspond to the state tax, and this would have to be paid as normal. This means the state would collect €9.8 million from him in tax.

The change happens with the rest of the tax – the regional tranche. If he doesn’t make any investments, which now seems unlikely, he would have to pay €8.2 million in tax to Madrid.

If on the other hand the French superstar invested €40 million in Spanish companies or state bonds – he could deduct €8 million, which represents 20 percent of that amount.

This would mean that Mbappé’s tax rate would remain at 24.5 percent, a marginal rate that is slightly higher than the personal income tax for a worker who earns €20,000 and receives around €1,300 net per month.

As a percentage, of course, the amounts in Mbappé’s case are going to be huge. So, instead of paying €18 million in total, he would only pay €9.8 million.

Overall, this legislation signals that Madrid will become even more attractive to foreign investors.

By contrast, those who move to Catalonia will have to pay 25.50 percent in regional income tax, which added to the 24.5 percent of the state tax would increase personal income tax by half. So as a Real Madrid player Mbappé would earn €30.2 million, but if he signed for Barça he would pocket €20 million.

What’s the catch?

There are a few caveats to the new law, which primarily depend on how long you stay in Madrid. The new regulations establish that you have to stay and live in Madrid for a total of six years. If you leave before those six years are up, then you will be forced to return part of the tax savings you made.

What does this mean for Madrid?

The regional government of Madrid estimates that 30,000 foreign investors could choose to move to the region specifically in order to benefit from the new law and that it will cost the public coffers €60 million per year.

The idea is that Madrid will continue to attract foreign investment. Madrid’s leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso recently claimed that: “Two out of every three euros that arrive in Spain as an investment from abroad do so in projects that are developed within the Community of Madrid. In the last decade, the flow of investments has doubled”.

Madrid already has some of the best tax incentives in Spain. Residents pay less tax on their income, assets, inheritance and property transactions and conditions are beneficial to high-income earners in particular.

Financial experts agree that Madrid is among, if not the top region, with the most lenient tax system in the country, and when the Mbappé law comes into force, the region will benefit from even more incentives.

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