Given the current political situation and the confusion regarding the effects of the change of registered office outside Catalunya, we have considered interesting to outline the fiscal effects of these changes in de different possible future scenarios.
What happens if the registered office change?
A mere transfer of the registered office outside Catalonia would have no fiscal consequence without being accompanied by an effective transfer of management and control of all its activities.
This is because:
Companies are taxpayers of the Corporate Tax when they have the consideration of resident in Spain. The residence occurs with accomplishing the following requirements:
- Its constitution has been carried out in accordance with Spanish Law
- Its registered office is in Spanish territory
- They have the centre of effective management in this territory
In the case that Catalunya achieves its independence, the activities carried out in Catalonia will also be taxed in Catalonia
If a company change their registered office and its centre of effective management to non-Catalan territory without leaving its activity in Catalonia, for example, production centres, workplaces, offices, etc., it shall be taxed there for the benefit obtained in said centres.
Anyway, even having managed to become a taxpayer in Spain, it should not be forgotten that any activity carried out in Catalan territory would be taxed through the Non-Resident Personal Income Tax.
In the event that no change is produced in the territorial structure, the Generalitat de Catalunya tax income will change
In the case that the current configuration of the Spanish state persists, a change of the registered office outside Catalunya alone does not produce any tax effect, if it is not accompanied by the change of the centre of effective management. In this case, it will be reflected in the tax collection to be received by the Generelitat de Catalunya for the taxes that are partially ceded to the autonomous communities, which correspond to 50% in the case of PIT and VAT. The income from Corporate Tax is not directly included in the Autonomous Financing Model, so it would not have any direct effect on the coffers of the Generalitat.
