Spain Forum

Starting a company in the UK whilst living in Spain

2010-03-16T18:02:42Z

Hello everyone,

I have a question (albeit a rather complicated one) about setting up a business in Spain… or not, as the case may be - I’ll explain my situation. I currently live and work full-time in Spain, at the moment for a Spanish company. I do my tax return once a year (my company gives me a “10-T”), I get social security etc. and it’s all straightforward. What I want to do now though is set up my own business. My plan is to stay in Spain as it’ll be an online business so I can do it all from home. However, having researched setting up a business in Spain, it turns out that even to go “autonomo” you have to start paying €250 a month regardless of whether you’re actually making any money or not, and I don’t think (although it would be nice) that I’ll be making any money while the business is still getting going, so I would be out of pocket from day one. Also, although I speak Spanish, the red tape involved in setting up a business in Spain is, er, let’s say “not fun”.

So… my thought is, as I’m from the UK, I could set up a business there - I’ve spoken to people in the UK and apparently it’s perfectly legal to do that even if you don’t live there anymore, you just need an address in the UK (and there are services to do that). As far as I understand it, I can set myself up as a sole trader for less than £100 (online too!) and then not have any ongoing payments. I could then pay myself (I need to confirm that) in Spain. I went to the Spanish inland revenue this morning to ask how that works, and I was told that I just declare what I’ve earned in the UK in Spain in my yearly tax return, and that’s it. I wasn’t convinced though (like many Spanish civil servants she gave me the impression that I was interrupting her day, even though it’s her job to work with the public). So I was wondering if anyone else has had experience in this area, from being a sole trader in the UK and moving to Spain to the whole minefield of trying to “do the right thing” and pay tax on your income in Spain even though it comes from abroad. Is it possible to pay income tax and social security and everything with this arrangement?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks
D

If i die will my wife be entitled to a share in my uk state pension, she is nos a pensioner

2010-03-07T14:07:20Z

Hi
Does anyone know?
I receive a work pension and a state pension if I died would my wife who is only 53 be entitled to a share in my state pension?
Cheers Brian

Cost of living in Madrid

2010-02-19T14:24:43Z

Hi all,

We’re a couple and we’re considering moving to Madrid… we were wondering about cost of living… We’re not aiming at luxury, but would like to enjoy life (going out sometimes at weekends, driving a small car, taking some holidays)... Would 3K euros a month (after taxes) be enough for 2 ppl?

Many thanks!!

tax Spain trading

2010-01-27T23:21:22Z

In the UK, I trade for a living, which is tax free. I would like to keep this status but also spend as little time in the UK as possible. I believe the rule is 90 days in the UK to retain tax resident status though I have also heard 183 days mentioned.
If I move to Ibiza, as long as I remain there for less than 183 days, I am told I do not become tax resident in Spain. However, would trading be classed as a contracted employment? It is self employment after all.

Bank accounts

2010-02-10T12:28:40Z

What is the best thing to do bank account-wise when you move from England to Spain. I am going to be working freelance but getting paid in euros. Is it better to open a Spanish bank account and have money paid into that or have it paid directly into my English account. If I have a spanish bank account, is it expensive to transfer money from England to Spain. How expensive is it taking out cash from the cash machine with a debit card. Final question : sorry - have so many at the moment as i;m on the rollercoaster of being in the process of moving to Spain in March.

Laptop repairs

2010-02-04T16:32:19Z

Hello, can anyone recommend a good and genuine laptop expert?I have only had my laptop for two years now and it´s playing up already.

Spanish Finance News by Jurdy

2008-09-18T01:05:43Z

Grupo Prisa has said that it has received five offers for its Digital Plus(known as Canal+) pay satellite service. The bids have come in from Telefónica, Vivendi, Telecinco, Ono and BSkyB.

Canal+ is a Spanish pay television channel, launched in September 1990 on terrestrial television frequencies. The channel is operated by Sogecable. The main staples of Canal+ are Spanish football, bullfighting and recent movies.

In 1997 new channels using the Canal+ brand were launched in Spain. Just as on the other markets were Canal+ was present, the channels were named after colours: Canal+ Rojo (Canal+ Red) and Canal+ Azul (Canal+ Blue). A special channel broadcasting content in 16:9 aspect ratio was launched later on, but it was replaced by a time-shift channel in 2001. In 2003, the colour branding was abandoned and several movie and sports channels were launched.

In 2005, the Spanish government agreed on a change in the license terms for the channel. The permission to change the channel from a mostly encrypted channel into a 24 hour free-to-air channel was officially given by the council of ministers on July 29, 2005. From November 2005, its analogue terrestrial frequencies were given to Sogecable’s new channel named Cuatro (“Four”). Canal+ is available on the digital satellite television platform Digital+.

Grupo Ferrovial, S.A. (English: Ferrovial Group)is to sale Gatwick airport in London 2.5 billion €.

Spanish services and construction giant, owner of BAA has put Gatwick airport in London up for sale, obliged to do so by the British competition agency. The airport is valued at some 2 billion pounds, 2.5 billion €. It has a single runway, but despite that is handling 35 million passengers a year – last year’s number.
In June 2006, a Ferrovial-led consortium purchased the British company BAA Limited, for £10 billion.[5] BAA owns and operates seven British airports, including London Heathrow Airport, and operates or carries out retail management in several others.

New Mayor of Alicante

Sonia Castedo takes up her position as the first Lady Mayor of Alicante today with the idea of forming a cross-party pact with the administrations in an attempt to move large projects in the city forward.

The 37 year old Partido Popular mayor said yesterday that she would be keeping the team of councillors which had been chosen by her predecessor, Luis Díaz Alperi . he was mayor sine mid 90 with 13 years under his belt

more at jurdy @ fmplus dot es

Will I be credit checked when opening a bank account in Spain

2010-02-08T13:54:09Z

I have recently moved to Spain from the UK and need to open a bank account. My question is will I be credit checked when opening a new account?

Any advise would be more than welcome.

Many Thanks

Looking to covert travellers cheques in Granad

2010-02-04T14:40:28Z

I have recently moved to Granada, and am looking to convert travellers cheques. I have done it once, and paid 5%, which is a crazy amount. Thus, are there any banks that are known to give a good rate for a lot of money? Or, am I better off just trying to set up an account, when I am only going to be in Spain for 6 months max? Any help would be appreciated.

Best bank for USA expats, non-residents.

2010-01-27T19:57:56Z

We want to open a bank account so that bills like heat, electric, internet, etc. can be debited from our account. It seems you cannot get internet or telephone service here without a spanish bank account. We are here for a few months. Which bank will be the easiest and most friendly for US citizens to open a non-resident account. We are in Salamanca.