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REVEALED: Spain’s proposed new tax rates for the self-employed from 2023 onwards

The Spanish government on Thursday proposed yet more changes to self-employed workers' tax contributions, with the new measures suggested for 2023 beneficial for low earners but bad news for higher earners. How much will 'autónomos' of all income brackets pay if the new laws are approved?

Published: 14 January 2022 11:56 CET
Spain's Minister of Social Security Jose Luis Escriva has proposed changes that will be beneficial in particular for low-earning autónomos. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)
Spain's Minister of Social Security José Luis Escrivá has proposed changes that will be beneficial in particular for low-earning autónomos. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)

The self-employed in Spain – known as autónomos – have long felt they are burdened with unfair tax and social security contributions.

Throughout the last year the government has met with unions to try and level the playing field for low earners and increase flexibility in the system.

READ MORE: Self-employed in Spain – the key changes to expect in 2022

Major self-employed unions met again in January 2022 with Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration to resume talks over changes to the system for the self-employed, and this most recent round of talks may present a step in the right direction for many. 

The Spanish government on Thursday revealed these plans for reforms to self-employed tax contributions based on income.

What are the proposed changes?

Social Security Minister José Luis Escrivá has suggested a system consisting of 13 different tax contribution brackets based on earnings, from those who earn less than €600 a month to those who make more than €4,050 a month.

The new model would introduce a minimum monthly contribution of €184 for low-earning autónomos and up to €1,267 for the top earners.

This would be done gradually over a period of eight years, so from 2023 to 2031 minimum earners would see their monthly tax contributions drop year after year, whereas high earners would seem them rise year on year.

The following table we’ve compiled using data by Spain’s Social Security Ministry shows the proposed tax contribution brackets for autónomos based on their monthly income over the next years. In yellow are the ones who would pay less, in turquoise the ones who would pay the same and in pink those who would pay more. 

chart proposed self employed tax contributions in Spain from 2023

Table: The Local, Source: Spain’s Social Security Ministry

The proposed changes also include a reduced flat rate of €70 for the first two years, and have been welcomed by many as the self-employed try to navigate the post-pandemic economy.

Half of Spain’s three million autónomos believe that they won’t recover to pre-pandemic financial levels until at least 2023, according to a poll from Spain’s National Federation of Self-Employed Workers’ Associations (ATA).

Who would these changes benefit?

According to government claims, the proposed changes would mean increased savings for two out of every three self-employed in Spain.

The plan, still in the negotiation phase and dependent on self-employed unions, would be applied over nine years starting from 2023, with measures to review the situation and contributions every three years. 

According to forecasts from the Ministry, the new system would generate savings of €1,300 per year for autónomos earning less than €600 a month; while for those who earn between €600 and €900 – a large proportion of Spain’s three million self-employed – the savings made under the new system could also be over €1,000.

However, for the higher earners being taxed on real earnings could result in considerably higher taxes over the next decade.

The contributions systems for autónomos in Spain has long been decried as unfair as it forced low earning self-employed workers to make contributions similar to higher earners with multiple income streams.

The reduced flat rate, and the improved flexibility of Escrivá’s new proposals, in particular, are aimed to level the playing field: the new system would allow each worker to increase or decrease their contributions throughout the year – up to six times – based on the ebb and flow of their income, something often unpredictable for the self-employed.

Does everbody agree with the proposals?

Although seen to be a step in the right direction, the proposals haven’t escaped criticism from some autónomo groups in Spain, however. Self-employed groups broadly welcome the return to dialogue and some view the proposal positively, but flaws have been noted in the proposed system. 

One criticism levelled at the Ministry’s proposals has been the speed with which the changes would be phased in. The Union of Associations of Self-Employed Workers and Entrepreneurs (UATAE) has stated that the self-employed “cannot wait nine years for the situation of the current regime to be modified until they are able to pay a fair quota.”

President of the  Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers (UPTA), Eduardo Abad, has suggested that negotiations so far are encouraging: “The objective for our organization, without a doubt, has been achieved, which is for this new system to return tax justice to a system such as the Social Security contribution.”

However, President of the National Federation of Associations of Self-Employed Workers (ATA), Lorenzo Amor, panned the government proposals and suggested that “they have no idea what it means to be self-employed.”

The latest round of negotiations between self-employed groups and government is set to continue from Monday. 

READ ALSO: Self-employed in Spain – What you should know about being ‘autónomo’

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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