Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Monday June 30 2008
By h.b. - Jun 30, 2008 - 12:22 PM
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The Euribor has ended June at an all-time high of 5.361%. After four months of increases in means the average increase in payments on the average mortgage are about 900 € more a year.
It comes as the latest figures show the price of new housing in Spain is down 1.2% in the provincial capitals across the country over the first six months of the year. Highest prices remain in Barcelona, San Sebastian and Madrid with prices falling the most in Canaries, Aragón, Navarra and Murcia.
The Spanish Minister for Employment and Immigration, Celestino Corbacho, has dismissed requests from Spanish businessmen for more flexibility in the labour marketplace.
He said that he would not be making sackings easier for businessmen as the crisis does not have a labour cause. He considers that the elements which need correction are purely economic ‘such as increasing the supply of raw materials and the lack of liquidity in the international markets.
Corbacho says that he thinks some 20,000 immigrants will take up the Government’s plan to pay all their unemployment pay entitlement in two lump sums on the condition that they return to their country of origin for at least three years. The number is about 20% of the 100,000 immigrants currently collecting unemployment benefit in Spain.
A study from Coventry University has said that the Euro2008 final will generate 300 million € in business. Spain and Germany will receive more than 170 million of that in sponsorship deals and that in Spain in particular the win will generate ‘a notable injection in consumer confidence. The city of Vienna is set to benefit from more than 100 million € for hosting the final, according to a study by the tournament sponsor, Mastercard.
Hacienda has found 2,511 people who are implicated in using 500 € notes in Spain to avoid tax responsibilities and to carry out other frauds. 70% of the investigations started back in 2003 have resulted in frauds being found, with most of the cases located on the Levante coast, Madrid and Barcelona. Much of the fraud has been linked to the real estate boom.
The Prosecutors Office is to take 650 businessmen to court following accidents in the workplace in Spain last year. Despite the number being nearly double that seen in 2006, some 40% of the fatalities which happen in the workplace in Spain still escape the control of a court case. Each year such accidents take almost 1000 lives across the country. Most of the problems are seen in small companies where accident prevention measures remain deficient.
And finally,
Today is the last day to present your income tax forms in Spain, if you are paying in or expecting a rebate.
According to data from the Ministry for the Economy and Hacienda, around 18.5 million tax forms have been presented this year, meaning 870,000 new tax payers in Spain. 14.2 million of those are entitled to a rebate, 4.2 million have to pay some more.
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