It has been published in the Official State Gazette of 16th of October 2020, the law 5/2020 from the 15th of October, on the Tax on Financial Transactions whose entry into force will be published three months after publication in the Official State Gazette.

Despite the fact that a group of European Union countries, of which Spain has been a member since 2013, have established a procedure for reinforced cooperation for the adoption of a Directive on the implementation of the Tax on Financial Transactions, no agreement has been reached on the approval of the aforementioned Directive. Therefore, Spain, following the line adopted by other European Union countries such as France or Italy, has considered it appropriate to establish the Tax on Financial Transactions at a national level, since such transactions are not currently subject to taxation in the area of indirect taxation.

Below, we will summarize the characteristics of this tax:

  • Taxable event: onerous acquisition of shares in Spanish companies regardless people´s or entities residences involved in the transaction, the financial intermediary´s residence or establishment place, as well as the negotiation place.
    It is limited to shares of those companies that have shares admitted to trading on a regulated market, regardless of whether the transaction is executed in a trading center or not, and which also have a market capitalization value greater than 1,000 million euros.
  • Exemptions: Certain operations proper to the primary market, those necessary for the correct functioning of the markets, those originated by business restructuring operations or by resolution measures, those carried out between companies of the same group and temporary assignments are declared exempt.
  • Accrual: It will be the moment in which the annotation in favor of the values object´s contributor of the onerous acquisition that constitutes the taxable event is carried out, either in a securities account or on the books at a financial institution providing the deposit or custody service, or on the records of a central securities depository or those kept by its participating institutions.
  • Tax base: this is the amount of the monetary compensation, not including the costs associated with the transaction.
  • Contributor: the securities purchaser. It is considered a taxable subject, the financial intermediary that transmits or executes the acquisition order, whether acting on its own account, in which case it will be a taxable subject as a contributor, or on behalf of third parties, in which case it will have the status of contributor´s substitute.
  • Tax rate: The tax will be levied at the rate of 0.2 percent.
  • Declaration and income obligation and documentation obligations: Taxpayers must present a self-assessment and pay the amount of the resulting tax debt with the content and in the place, form and time periods established by regulation.

In Auxadi we are experts in providing value added services in accounting, finance, tax compliance, payroll management and technology, being a strategic partner of your business.  If you need to expand on what we have stated here, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Marta Reguera

Marta Reguera Prada
Director Tax Support

All information contained in this publication is up to date on 2020. This content has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this chart without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this content, and, to the extent permitted by law, AUXADI does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this chart or for any decision based on it.