May 2024
Dear all,
With the European Parliament elections just around the corner, we open a new newsletter, the one for the month of May, with an interesting talk with the economist and expert consultant on European issues Carles Gasòliba. We continue to remind you of the leave that workers are entitled to in order to exercise their right to vote on 9 June and we report on news on electronic invoicing, the calendar of regional holidays for 2025 and the voluntary contribution of students on work experience, among other topics.
We also share the latest #BNFIXPICHaldía short videos, some publications of interest, our entry in IR Global and the latest appointments in our collaboration agenda.
Joaquim Coma – jcoma@pich.bnfix.com
Partner in charge of tax area BNFIX PICH TAX LEGAL
Highlights
/ European elections on 9 June: challenges and prospects · VIDEO-Interview with Carles Gasòliba
A few days before the European Parliament elections, our partner Valentín Pich talks to economist, consultant and expert on European issues Carles Gasòliba about the main challenges facing the EU in the coming years, such as catching up with its competitors in terms of technology, climate change and the construction of a Europe of defence, among others.
/ Instructions so that workers can vote on 9 June
As we have done in previous calls, in view of the European elections, we would like to remind you of the instructions to make the obligations of people working on the day of the elections (or in the hours before or after) compatible with the leave they may be entitled to in order to vote or to be part of a polling station or to be an interventor (voting officer). Pending publication in the BOE of definitive instructions, we believe that they will be similar to those published in the DOGC for the elections to the Catalan Parliament.
/ Current requirements and implications of electronic invoicing
The new legal developments already in force or in preparation regarding electronic invoicing and electronic invoicing programmes raise a series of doubts for companies, entities and self-employed professionals regarding the decisions they will have to take in the coming months and years to adapt to them.
With the aim of clarifying the most common doubts and shedding some light on the subject, we have prepared an informative circular on deadlines, requirements and taxpayers obliged to comply with the new scenario.
/ Social Security contributions rise: what should companies take into account?
Various legal measures approved or in force from 2023 have meant an increase in Social Security contributions through the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, the updating of the maximum contribution base and the solidarity contribution. These are measures that we remind you of in a circular and which companies should be aware of and take into account when calculating and forecasting their business costs.
/ Approval of the Order to recover up to five years of internships as years of contributions.
El Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) del 1 de mayo pasado publica la Orden que regula la suscripción del convenio especial con la Seguridad Social para computar las cotizaciones por periodos de prácticas formativas y académicas externas.
/ Official calendar of public holidays in Catalonia in 2025.
The Official Journal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) of 26 April published the Order establishing the calendar of public holidays in Catalonia for next year.
To this calendar, each municipality must add two local holidays.
International
/ We join the international group IR Global
Alba Pich, representing BNFIX PICH TAX LEGAL, has joined the international network IR Global as a specialist in accounting services. This strategic alliance aims to strengthen our international services, thus extending their global reach.
This addition to IRGLOBAL complements our membership of the international DFK group and further enhances our ability to serve the international needs of our clients.
Agenda
/ Session on the liability of company directors
The partner in charge of the Legal Department, María José Moragas, and the lawyer of this department, Víctor Bueno, gave a session on 25 April at the headquarters of the Centre Metal-lúrgic de Sabadell, entitled ‘Duties, obligations and liability of the administrative bodies (directors)’. The aim of the session was to explain the main obligations of company administrators in order to fulfil their functions correctly and thus avoid conduct that could lead to subsequent liabilities.
Following the session at Centrem, we invite you to read (in Spanish) some reflections on the significance of directors’ liability HERE
/ 10th Conference on Public Sector Auditing
Joan Claret, from the Audit Area, participated on 22 May in the 10th Conference on Public Sector Auditing, organised by the General Council of Economists. Specifically, he moderated the session ‘The IGAE as a control and audit authority in the management of European funds: experiences and challenges’.
For his part, the president of BNFIX Global, Ramon Madrid, moderated the session ‘The benefits of managing quality in audits’, while Valentí Pich, in his capacity as president of the General Council of Economists, opened the conference together with the president of the REA Auditors, Emilio Álvarez-Pérez.
/ Presentation of the report ‘La atención residencial en el marco de la Dependencia en España’ (‘Residential care in the framework of Dependency in Spain’).
On Friday 24 May, the CEOE headquarters hosted the signing ceremony of the Manifesto against the discriminatory double VAT applied to Social Services organised by the Business Circle for the Care of People (CEAPs). During the event, the report ‘La atención residencial en el marco de la Dependencia en España’, coordinated by Valentí Pich and Ester Brullet, was presented.
You can read the report, in Spanish, HERE
Press
/ El Economista / ‘Companies are mobilising to avoid US-style class action lawsuits’.
Article in ‘El Economista’ explaining that companies are mobilising to change the law and avoid US-style class action lawsuits. They are seeking, through the employers’ association CEOE, to amend the regulation in Congress so that it does not bind all those affected by default.
Instead, they advocate the majority model in Europe, where each citizen chooses voluntarily whether or not to join the various lawsuits that are filed, or can even litigate autonomously. The legal commission of the employers’ association is closely following the development of the issue given the great impact it may have.
The complete article, in Spanish, HERE
/ Expansión / BNFIX, among the top 25 Spanish professional services firms
BNFIX Global is one of the top 25 audit, consulting and legal advisory firms in Spain, according to the latest ranking of the economic newspaper Expansión, based on data provided by more than 40 companies in the sector.
The data show the dynamism of the sector, derived from the economic improvement, but also from the growing volume of legal obligations (data protection, cybersecurity, compliance…) that offer new levers of activity. On the negative side, the weight of the ‘big four’ companies
The complete article, in Spanish, HERE
/ El Economista / ‘The sad podium for Spain in contributions’.
Opinion article by our partner Valentín Pich in ‘El Economista’ in which he reviews the latest measures approved by the Government to increase income by means of increases in Social Security contributions, which may weigh down business competitiveness. For this reason, he calls for reflection and asks for labour costs to be ‘reasonable’ and to stop occupying the sad podium of the eurozone countries in terms of social contributions.
The complete article, in Spanish, HERE
