Spanish Supreme Court confirms the minimum participation withholding rate for application of Spain-Netherlands tax treaty
The Spanish Supreme Court issued a decision on 6 March in relation to application of the double tax agreement between Spain and the Netherlands signed on 16 June 1971. The Court confirmed that the 5% reduced rate for withholding tax under the DTA
See MoreSpain’s Prime Minister Considers Cultural VAT Cut
The Prime Minister of Spain has suggested that the standard rate of value added tax (VAT) applied to goods and services could be reduced as part of a general tax reform. The Spanish government has recently raised the VAT rate on the cultural sector
See MoreSpain- Industry Comments on Tax Reform Proposals
The Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) has given a mixed response to the tax overhaul proposed by Spain's Expert Committee on Tax Reform. Its recommendations focused on lowering direct tax rates by cutting back on the number of
See MoreSpain – New tax measures for corporate debt refinancing and restructuring
Royal Decree Law 4/2014 which is effective from 9 March 2014 contains provisions in respect of corporate debt restructuring. Among the issues covered in the law are the treatment for tax purposes of capital increases through the capitalization of
See MoreSpanish SMEs Ask for VAT and Income Tax Support
The President of Spain's small business association CEPYME, has called on the Government to lower the rate of corporation tax levied on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Spain, as part of its plans to reform taxation. He also recommended
See MoreSpain: Spanish Experts Call For Huge Direct Tax Cut
A report from the Experts Committee on Tax Reform recently submitted to the Finance Minister has recommended that there should be reductions in direct taxes and in the social security contributions. These would be paid for partly by increases in
See MoreSpain to Bill Firms Directly For Social Security Contributions
The Social Security Administration in Spain is to commence directly invoicing employers in respect of monthly social security bills, instead of relying on employers to deduct the contributions from wages on a monthly basis. The invoice will be
See MoreSpain – Refund opportunity for retail sales tax on hydrocarbons
The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) in late February 2014 issued a judgment, finding that Spain’s tax on retail sales of certain hydrocarbons is contrary to EU law. The CJEU rejected a request of the Spanish tax authorities that
See MoreSpain – published social security contributions decrease
The Official Gazette published Royal Decree-Law 3/2014 on 1 March 2014. This law contains urgent measures to promote employment via the contracting of workers for an indefinite period. The Decree-Law sets out the circumstances in which a flat social
See MoreSpain’s opposition leader proposes low-income tax package
In the course of the State of the Nation debate in Congress, Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE) leader proposed that a tax package be introduced to protect low-income earners in Spain, and in particular to protect families. The proposal related to
See MoreSpain – CJEU finds Retail sales tax on diesel contrary to EU law
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued a judgment in the case of:Transportes Jordi Besora SL v. Generalitat de Catalunya, C-82/12 ruling that the Spanish tax on retail sales of diesel and petrol is contrary to EU law. The CJEU
See MoreSpain Slashes Labor Taxes To Create Jobs
Spain has announced plans to significantly lower social security contributions for employers who recruit permanent members of staff. The Prime Minister has suggested that an upwards revision of the growth forecast for this year and next will enable
See MoreSpain: Tax Reform Package Designed
The tax reform committee in Spain will soon present proposals for a comprehensive tax system reform. It is expected that the committee will recommend simplification of the system and corporate taxation and individual income tax rate reductions,
See MoreSpain: National court decides intra-group debt transaction as fraud of law
The Spanish National Court decides the case of Sabic Innovative against the tax administration (Appeal 367/2010) as fraud of law. The Court ruled that the intra-group debt transaction is usually tax-driven and did not have an economic or business
See MoreOman and Spain sign DTA
The double taxation agreement (DTA) signed between Oman and Spain was submitted to the Economic and Financial Committee of Oman's lower house of parliament on February 11,
See MoreSpain: 2014 Budget is in Effect
The 2014 Budget published by the Spanish government is now in effect as of 1 January 2014. The budget includes a long-term strategy targeting employee training, advance payments regulation and changes to corporate income tax. The main tax changes
See MoreSpanish capital gains tax rules found to be discriminatory by Supreme Court
In a decision on 25 October 2013 in the Brambles France case (appeal No 1374/2011), Spain's Supreme Court ruled that the capital gains tax on non-residents may be discriminatory in some cases. The case involved a French company that sold its shares
See MoreSpain extends latest deadline for cash accounting
The opportunity for Spanish companies to join the new cash reporting VAT scheme has been extend to 31 March 2014. The Spanish VAT cash accounting scheme was announced last year to help small businesses better manage their cash flows. It enables
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