The Start-up Ecosystem Development Billknown as Startup Lawhe has received the support of Congress with majority support. The vote in favor of the government parties has been joined by that of practically all the parties that occupy the hemicycle. Except for the PP, who have voted against, and Vox, who have abstained. The only thing left for the law is the passage through the Senate for final approval, and if everything goes according to plan, it will enter into force next January.
Before going through the vote in Congress, the law had already been approved in committee. Upon leaving it, the text incorporated around 80 amendments, which have led to some changes in the original text.
Among these changes, according to Europa Press, is the incorporation of cooperatives to the regime of emerging companies. Also the permission of the positive administrative silence of Enisa regarding the recognition of a startup. The criteria that evaluate the level of innovation of a business have also been deepened.
In addition, the ability of the Tax Agency to check if the requirements are met so that companies continue to maintain tax benefits is recognized. The penalty designed to reverse these advantages when one of the partners is convicted has also risen. Of course, for the penalty to apply, the convicted person must have a minimum of 5% of the capital of the startup.
At the same time, access to the benefits for having a highly qualified professional is equated to people who have followed professional training studies. Likewise, the requirements that companies must meet to have these employees in their templates are eliminated. Lastly, the permit for foreign higher education students to find a job or open a company after completing their studies is reduced from one to two years.
None of the changes added to the Startups Law affects the regime of tax advantages included in the bill that has reached Congress. Therefore, startups will have more favorable taxation, as will their workers.
In another order of things, a startup partner will be able to count up to four companies of this type and receive the expected benefits. Until now, the maximum number of startups that the same partner could be part of was three.
The reactions to the support of the Startups Law in Congress have not been long in coming. Thus, from the Spanish Association of Startups (AES)the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy (ADigital)Capital for a Sustainable Future (SpainCap), Endeavor, the Cotec Foundation, Startup Valencia, South Summit, Tech Barcelona and the Spanish Association of Biocompanies (AseBio), have approved the approvalwhich they define as «a very important step for the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem and our economy as a whole«.
The aforementioned entities have also congratulated the Government and the parliamentary groups for the work carried out to improve the bill and send the Senate a text more adapted to the reality of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In addition, these organizations have recalled that they have been for several years «working to highlight the importance of having a legal instrument in the form of a law that would describe and value the entire ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation«.
They also point out that “The Government has shown sensitivity when collecting the demands of the sector and has approved a bill with a structure very similar to the one that the ecosystem had proposed. It was necessary to recognize the uniqueness of the startup as a business model of innovation, and therefore define it. Also, establish an agile accreditation mechanism for companies, which ENISA will finally take care of, which would automatically give access to a series of advantages and measures in fiscal, labor, economic and social matters.«.
The organizations believe that the approved regulations are very important not only for startups, but also «with a view to transforming and guaranteeing a more solid long-term business fabric in Spain, in line with neighboring countries. Therefore, now that the bill is in its final stretch, it is time to look to the future and together, public and private agents, continue working on the development of the standard and the evaluation of the measures established within the Forum of Emerging Companies that the law creates, to finish articulating an ambitious and long-term regulatory framework, which promotes the competitiveness of the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem«.
