The pymes They are fundamental in the Spanish economy, since they represent 99.8% of the national business fabric. These represent more than 62% of the Gross Added Value (GVA) and 66% in the case of business employment. Despite its undoubted contribution to the Spanish economy, according to the first Report on the Income Statement and Spanish Tax Policy conducted by TaxScouts, the online platform that simplifies tax filing, 66% of Spaniards believes that Spain does not give facilities to freelancers and entrepreneurs to start taking their first steps.
In this same survey, other data corresponding to the entrepreneurship sector and taxation have also been obtained. Thus, 92% of Spaniards believe that the public administration should simplify the amount of paperwork necessary that entrepreneurs and freelancers face when creating their company, to facilitate and encourage entrepreneurship, which has been on a downward trend since 2007, when it stood at 7.6% according to data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM ). According to the latest data from the same observatory, only 5.2% of Spaniards started a business in 2020.
Regional differences regarding the regulation and promotion of entrepreneurship also affect it. In this sense, according to data from TaxScouts, 52% of Spaniards believe that laws such as the Open Market Law approved by the Community of Madrid to promote the free movement of companies, should be national so as not to favor some territories to the detriment of others. These types of regulations also help the autonomous communities that implement them, since according to Madrid Government forecasts, their application will mean an increase in Madrid’s GDP of 1.6% in the medium and long term, generating some 4,000 million euros per year and some 50,000 new jobs.
New quotas for freelancers
Despite the pandemic, the number of self-employed affiliated to the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) increased during 2021, reaching 3,328,399, the highest figure since 2009, according to affiliation and unemployment data published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, and Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Despite this increase, the new quotas established by the Government, could have a negative impact on the group, which has not welcomed the new measures. So much so that up to 50% of Spaniards who work for others would cease to be self-employed or entrepreneurs due to the new law and would seek another way of carrying out their professional activity.
Social Security contributions are the main stumbling block for employed workers: 52% of them believe that these should be paid based on income and not be a fixed fee. In addition, 40% of them believe that, despite the fact that it is a progressive system, the monthly installments are very high according to the data from the first Report on the Spanish Income Statement and Tax Policy prepared by TaxScouts.
“According to the data from the first Report on the Spanish Income Statement and Fiscal Policy that we have prepared, Spaniards do not believe that the current legislative system encourages entrepreneurship. The large number of fees to pay, as well as the bureaucratic procedures to create a company or register as self-employed, are two of the main obstacles to be improved in the coming years in order to promote the entrepreneurial spirit in the country, thus helping to create a more diversified business in the coming years”, says Jaume Suñol, General Manager of TaxScouts Spain.
