The Council of Ministers has approved the Draft Bill to support entrepreneurs, which aims to boost entrepreneurial and business activity.
The strategic lines of action for the new legislation, which starts now the parliamentary process, include fostering an entrepreneurial culture and initiative and facilitating the creation of business, establishing support from the tax and social security authorities and financing for entrepreneurs, developing business growth and new hiring.
One of the key initiatives is the creation of the figure of the limited liability entrepreneur. This will mean that the self-employed will not have unlimited liability for business debts. Their primary residence will be exempted up to 300.000 euros.
In order to foster and speed up the incorporation of companies all bureaucratic paperwork will be centralized. “We are looking for businesses to be opened quickly, within 24 or 48 hours”, the Vice-President of the Government said.
In addition, it is agreed to implement the “Start up in 3” Project which will allow the necessary sworn declarations to the public administrations services to be made via a one-stop electronic portal, in order to start the economic activity.
Furthermore, self-employed and small- and medium-sized enterprises with turnover of less than two million euros will not have to pay VAT on invoices until they are actually settled. This measure will come into force on 1 January 2014.
The Draft also includes measures to foster access by entrepreneurs to public sector contracts.
Contact between small entrepreneurs will be facilitated in order for them to set up joint ventures. Furthermore, the thresholds for the classification requirements for access to contracts will rise from 350.000 to 500.000 euros for specific work contracts and from 120.000 to 200.000 euros for service contracts. Similarly, the system of collateral for public sector contracts will be adapted to the possibilities of the entrepreneur and the substantiating documentation necessary for entering into such contracts will be reduced.
On another note, in order to encourage the arrival of new investment and talent in Spain, the concession of residence permits to investors of significant economic amounts and highly-qualified professionals will be facilitated and speeded up.
The entrepreneurs law