DRIVER CRISIS

A VALENCIAN road haulage federation says the region is short of 2,000 drivers which is causing serious problems with deliveries.

FVET president, Carlos Prades, has claimed the shortage is 'paralysing operations'. “This sector has faced, in recent years, the pandemic and the energy crisis and it seems that, now, in a period of economic uncertainty, another more serious crisis looms which is a lack of drivers,” said Prades.

erlands, Greece, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania, mainly due to their double-digit inflation rates at the end of last year.

People in Spain paid an average of 39.5% of their income in taxes and social security contributions in 2022.

This is five points above the average for the 38 countries that make up the OECD. People in Spain pay almost

10 points less in income taxes than neighbouring countries such as Belgium, Germany or France, and even less than Italy or Portugal.

However, Social Security contributions paid by employers in Spain account for 23% of the salary- well above the average of the 38 countries that make up the OECD which stands at 13.4%.

Shorter hours

CAR rental company Wiber rent a car has introduced a 32hour working week. The company has offices in Spain’s main tourist spots, including Mallorca, Valencia, Alicante, Ibiza and the Costa del Sol. The decrease in the number of hours will not lead to a wage reduction, as workers will maintain their previous salaries. Spain currently has a 40-hour working week, but this may be subject to change.

Spanish Minister of Labour Yolanda Diaz has spoken earlier about the benefits of shorter working weeks earlier this year. “People should work to live and not live to work,” she said.

Problem

In the last two years, the problem has gone from affecting a third of regional transport companies to 52% according to FVET data. A report from the International Road Federation says that young people are being put off from joining the profession because of the high cost of training- around €3,500.

“According to the Valencian Institute of Statistics, there are 51,600 people between 16 and 25 years who are unemployed in the Valencian Community, for whom transport can offer an answer,” suggested Prades. He added that compared to other Spanish regions, the Valencian Community ‘has not taken any measures to promote the entry of young people to the profession’.

When it comes to UK IHT it is always advisable to plan for the worst so that a negative posthumous determination by HMRC does not reduce the inheritance of your children.

To complicate matters, Spain has forced heirship rules where the inheritance is divided with two thirds going to the surviving spouse and children, and the final third being distributed freely.

The EU Succession Directive enables expats to distribute assets based on their nationality rather than the country they live.

This means a British expat in Spain can avoid forced heirship rules and distribute assets as they wish.

The differences don’t end there. Whereas in the UK inheritance tax is paid by the estate in Spain the beneficiaries must settle any succession taxes before inheriting any assets.

The double taxation treaty between the UK and Spain does not extend to IHT, which means that potentially you could be exposed to inheritance tax in both jurisdictions.

The good news is there are tax planning opportunities to restructure your financial affairs to avoid forced heirship rules and mitigate both Spanish succession and UK IHT.

You need a safe pair of hands to ensure your legacy is protected.

We are in the Costa Blanca area from 15th until 19th May 2023 and available for personal meetings from Torrevieja to Valencia. We can arrange zoom meetings outside those dates.

If you feel you would benefit from a second opinion please email enquiries@fwm.gi or call us on tel: +44 207 998 0570

Our financial advisers are fully licensed, qualified and regulated to provide financial advice in Spain and across the EU.

MURCIA, Valencia and Andalucia have been identified as the autonomous communities with the worst public health services. Spain’s Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health Care (FADSP) has published a ranking based on a number of parameters such as health expendi