MADRID: The fiscal burden of companies and families in Spain in 2014 was the highest on record, according to the Tax Agency’s current series, which began in 1995. The statistics, which were updated several weeks ago, see the average rate for the main taxes income, value added, company and special taxes as high as 15.2%. The explanation for this lies in the notable hikes applied by the Popular Party (PP) government.
The end result has been that, in spite of the lower numbers of people in work and companies operating in Spain, the state took in €175 billion in 2014, a figure only previously surpassed in the boom years of 2006 (€179 billion) and 2007 (€200 billion).
The combination of successive tax rises in recent years with the start of economic recovery has seen income tax and VAT revenues shoot up to record levels, despite the fact that there are three million fewer people in work compared to 2007, and that spending that is subject to VAT is €100 billion lower than eight years ago, before the crisis took hold.
