The new taxation of the “Great Fortunes”

With the aim of raising revenue and harmonising taxation between the different Autonomous Communities, the Socialist and Unidas Podemos parliamentary groups have proposed the creation, by means of amendments, of a new tax that would be levied on assets exceeding €3,700,000 and which would consist of a complementary tax to the Wealth Tax. The new tax would be included in the text of the proposed law for the establishment of temporary energy taxes and taxes on credit institutions and financial credit establishments, and which creates the Temporary Solidarity Tax on Major Fortunes, and modifies certain tax regulations.

This new tax, which would come into force this year, would treat as exempt the same assets and rights as the Wealth Tax and the applicable tax rate would be set at between 1.7% and 3.5%.

what are the main features of this new tax?

The main features of this new tax would be as follows:

• The taxable persons are those liable to Wealth Tax both by real and personal obligation.
• The net wealth of individuals exceeding €3,700,000 is subject to taxation. Specifically, there is a minimum exemption of €700,000 and a tax rate of 0.00% for the first €3,000,000, which means that net assets of up to €3,700,000 are not taxed.
• The same assets and rights established in the Wealth Tax are exempt. Consequently, they would not form part of the tax base, among others:
  • The main residence with a limit of €300,000.00.
  • Assets and rights necessary for the development of the business or professional activity that constitutes the main source of income.
  • The family business, provided that certain requirements are met.
  • The vested rights of the participants and the economic rights of the beneficiaries in a pension plan.
• The tax liability will result from applying the following rate to the taxpayer’s net assets, once this has been reduced by the minimum exempt amount of €700,000.00.

• The full amount of this tax together with that of personal income tax and wealth tax may not exceed 60% of the sum of the taxable bases of personal income tax. In the event of being higher, the tax liability would be reduced up to the limit indicated, and the reduction may not exceed 80% of the tax liability. In other words, in any case, at least 20% of the amount of this new tax is paid.
• The amount of wealth tax paid for the year will be deductible from the tax liability.
• The tax is payable on 31 December of each year. The period of application of the tax is set at two years from the date of its entry into force, which is expected to be this year 2022; in other words, it would be applicable for the years 2022 and 2023, to be declared in 2023 and 2024.

The text of the amendment submitted would allow the government to carry out an evaluation to assess the results of the tax and, if necessary, propose its maintenance or abolition, which opens the door to maintaining this tax. The entry into force of this new tax and the introduction of possible modifications will depend on the parliamentary processing of the regulation. Addvante is at your disposal to assess the fiscal impact of this new tax, to analyse the advisability of reorganising the composition of wealth and to assess the possibility of challenging self-assessments of the tax in the event of doubts as to its legality.