Although the approval of the Senate is still pending, the Congress of Deputies considers the approval of the Law for the Promotion of the Emerging Companies Ecosystem or new Startups Law as a fact.
This legal framework will regulate the technological entrepreneurship market in the Catalan capital, so that the sector can compete on equal terms with similar European industries.
The Government intends for the Law to come into force as of January 1, 2023.
Thanks to this new initiative, the city will improve its competitiveness and consolidate its position as the third favorite city in Europe to create a startup. It also ranks seventh in Europe in investment in technology companies.
It is not only offering quality of life and long seasons of sun and beach. Talent is attracted with the right legislation and the right environment for investment and career development.
With this, the Catalan capital now has a real opportunity to become one of the world’s leading cities with the potential to develop a new entrepreneurial economy.
The Startup Law
Maite Barrera, president of Barcelona Global, affirms that the organization has dedicated more than five years of work to bring it forward.
In his opinion, although the regulation will be an improvement for the whole of Spain, Barcelona will be the city that will particularly benefit from being able to “capitalize” on the changes.
Some of the topics to be included in the Startup Law are:
- Improved taxation associated with the arrival and return of talent to Spain.
- Improved taxation in particular for investors in innovation companies.
- Simplification of procedures related to work visas and residence permits.
- Improvement in the process to obtain and process the NIE.
- New tax framework for independent professionals and their families.
- Both investors and independent professionals will be able to benefit from the impatriate regime. In this way, they will pay income tax at 24% for 5 years and will not be taxed on their assets.
- Professionals who want to benefit from the measure must obtain a minimum of 40% of their turnover from work provided to startups or knowledge economy activities on a self-employed basis.
- Both family members and partners of impatriates will also be able to benefit from this regime.
- The number of years that must be spent outside Spain in order to return and benefit from the impatriate regime is reduced from 10 to 5. This will facilitate the return of qualified professionals who went to other countries to work or study.
- Strengthen Stock Options to remunerate talent through the benefit that allows employees of a startup to have the possibility of buying a certain number of shares at a symbolic or preferential price, but with the promise of future growth.
