The new year arrives with another tax increase of up to 3,273 million

The year 2022 starts with a new tax increase of up to 3,273 million euros. The legislative changes that came into force on January 1 include increases in Corporation Tax, in the taxation of pension plans, in Registration Tax and in Personal Income Tax. In addition, the regulations include a punishment for housing with the new property appraisal system from the cadastre.

70% of the tax increase this year will fall on companies. The companies will bear, to a large extent, the increase in taxes, specifically 2,271 million, with the consequent impact on their tax costs. The this year’s increase in tax burden has caused the country lose another four spots on the Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index. Spain occupies position 27 of the total of the 36 countries analyzed.

In addition, the results of the committee of experts appointed by Montero last year for the reform of Spanish taxation are pending. The committee plans to publish its proposals later this year with further reforms.

Corporate tax

The General State Budgets establish a minimum rate of 15% in Companies that will affect companies with a turnover of more than 20 million euros or that constitute a consolidated group. The Government estimates that the measure will have an impact of around 50 million euros in the collection of this year, the first year of its validity.

IRPF

The Personal Income Tax (IRPF) also undergoes changes during this year. The IPRF will suffer a rise in 2022 that will affect the highest brackets of income from work and capital. This will affect about 36,000 taxpayers, 0.17% of the total. Income from work from 300,000 euros will increase to 47% and capital and savings from more than 200,000 euros to 26%.

Pension plans

The PGE for 2022 contemplate a reduction of 500 euros in the maximum individual contribution to private pension plans with the right to deduction in personal income tax, which will go from 2,000 euros to 1,500 euros per year from January 1, as advanced by the Executive this Thursday.

On the contrary, the maximum contributions to business plans with the right to deduct will rise 500 euros, from 8,000 euros to 8,500 euros by 2022. Between them, the total contribution with tax benefits remains at 10,000 euros per year.

In two years, the maximum contributions to individual plans have experienced a cut of 6,500 euros, since the General State Budgets of 2021 have already introduced a reduction from 8,000 euros to 2,000 euros, which will stand at 1,500 euros next year , in line with the recommendations of the Toledo Pact.

Registration tax

The new registration tax came into force on January 1, linked to the WLTP homologation cycle. The reform will mean an increase in the average price of vehicles of up to 1,000 euros, due to its greater demand in terms of emissions and that will cause the loss of up to 100,000 registered units. These are the calculations handled by the Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations (Faconauto), whose president, Gerardo Pérez, in a meeting with the press, indicated that this tax increase will “demobilize” sales, as happened in the first half of 2021 , before the tax was “frozen”, and stated that between 70,000 and 100,000 additional registrations could be lost.

Thus, until December 31, 2021, the models that emit less than 144 grams of CO2 for each kilometer traveled do not pay the registration tax. Previously, cars that emit less than 120 g / km were exempt from paying this fee.

Vehicles that emit between 144 and 192 grams of CO2 pay 4.75% of this tax (previously 120-160 grams), while 9.75% are paid by those customers with cars that emit between 192 and 240 grams of CO2 (previously, in the 160-200 grams).

The last section, those vehicles that expel more than 240 grams, must pay 14.75%, while previously those that emit more than 200 grams of CO2 per kilometer paid this percentage.

Cadastre Values

From January 1, the way of calculating the taxable base of taxes on Wealth, Inheritance and Donations (ISD) and Patrimonial Transmissions and Documented Legal Acts (ITP) changes, which will be linked to the reference value of the Cadastre. The norm establishes that the reference values ​​will not exceed the market values. The reduction factors will be applied, which place the coefficient at 0.9, both for urban real estate as for the rustic ones. It will only affect whoever acquires a property as of January 1, 2022.

This reform, together with the rest of the property tax measures, brings Spain to the highest level of property tax in all developed countries. Spain already reaches the Italian level, traditionally the OECD country with the highest tax burden on property. The list of Spanish taxes that affect housing is the longest of all OECD countries. The properties are subject to Income Tax charged to the owner for second homes, Wealth Tax, IRNR, IBI or Successions and Donations.