Social Security procedures tend to be a hot topic of conversation among business owners, and one that is high up on the list is whether it is better to take out a private pension to complement obligatory monthly payments or to simply increase Social Security payments. As I looked into this matter further, I was taken back to the Law of Urgent Measures for Sole Traders which was approved in 2017.


Most people’s initial reaction to receiving any type of official notification is to panic. Others opt to bury their heads in the sand like an ostrich, hoping the situation will “resolve itself”. Both responses are a mistake! Of course it is rare the Tax Office will ever take the time to write to congratulate you on a job well done or to thank you for the taxes you’ve paid diligently every quarter over the past decade but before you go to panic stations, read through the document carefully because many times the Tax Office simply needs to confirm information filed on a declaration and the purpose of the notification does not necessarily result in any form of payment or penalty.


UPDATE!: Since BREXIT has been postponed yet again, the Spanish DGT has extended its deadline to 31st January 2020…

With the 31st of October approaching fast, BREXIT is on most people’s minds. The latest change to affect UK residents in Spain is that the DGT (UK equivalent of DVLA) has posted information on their website advising of new regulations for holders of UK licences to continue driving on Spanish roads in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Up until now, the rules have been that the driver must have two years on their residencia card in order to exchange another EU member state’s driving licence for a Spanish document, and many in the final run to the Brexit deadline have been exchanging their licences to avoid posible problems.


We have discussed in past issues the serious battle Social Security has on its hands. Although we may complain about the amount of money we pay each month towards our Social Security contributions, they are essential if we want to receive our well-earned pensions come retirement age.

When a business owner hires an employee, they do not only have to take their salary into account when calculating costs, but a portion of Social Security and a quarterly tax amount must be factored into the overall expense. These two concepts are based on a percentage of said salary so it stands to reason, the fewer hours the employee works, the lower their salary and the lower the taxes to be paid out by the business owner.

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