Last week, the Council of Ministers approved a Report on the Draft Bill to promote the ecosystem of emerging companies, known as the startup law. Entrepreneurs focused on emerging sectors through mentoring or mentoring may benefit from specific legislation for a specific environment: startups.
Mentoring, a methodology aimed at developing people’s potential, based on the transfer of knowledge and learning through experience, may benefit from a future law that aims to promote the attraction and recruitment of talent as a of its bases. R + D + i and innovation are gaining ground in the Government’s future plans. In addition, the Government intends to facilitate the bureaucracy in the creation of start-ups.
New or emerging companies and in Spain
The new startup law is aimed at all newly created companies or entrepreneurs and groups of “emerging” companies, with registered office or permanent establishment in Spain, that have not distributed dividends, are not listed and of an innovative nature. In addition, the indicative criteria of said innovative character are collected, encompassing the concepts existing up to now in different standards of “technology-based companies”, “innovative SMEs” or “young innovative companies”.
Talent recruitment and attraction
The startup law seeks to stop the famous brain drain. This preliminary project seeks to stimulate investment and the attraction of talent, but also seeks to preserve the talent trained in our country. In addition, it aims to promote collaboration between SMEs, large companies and emerging companies, promote R + D + i, also in the Administration through innovative public purchase, and encourage the collaboration of emerging companies and entrepreneurs with Universities and research centers .
15% in companies and elimination of bureaucratic obstacles
One of the incentives to facilitate the business operation of the new initiatives undertaken by the self-employed and entrepreneurs focuses on taxation. As stated in this new law on emerging companies, entrepreneurs will be able to opt for a corporate tax rate reduced by ten points, going from 25% to 15% in startups up to a maximum of four years. This period in which startups would enjoy a corporate tax reduced to 15% would begin in the first tax period in which the tax base is positive and in the following three as long as it maintains the emerging company qualification. In addition, it includes the possibility that startups request the deferral of the tax debt of the corporate tax or the income tax of non-residents in the first year in which the tax base is positive and in the following, with exemption of guarantees and without accrual of late payment interest, for a period of 12 and 6 months respectively. In addition, with the aim of eliminating obstacles in the creation of startups, it eliminates the obligation to make installment payments of corporation tax and non-resident income tax in the 2 years after the one in which the tax base is positive.
Special visa for ‘digital nomads’
To adapt a business ecosystem and favor the recruitment of workers in emerging sectors and companies, it is necessary to provide the agility and flexibility necessary to a special work environment. One of the points involved in this new law is a specific visa in order to favor the installation in Spain of the so-called ‘digital nomads’. This type of visa is aimed at those people who work in Spain for a foreign company, including in the audiovisual field.
Sandbox for startups: regulation and special environment
Taking the financial sector sandbox as a reference, the new startup law proposes to create a general and basic regulation on regulated test environments. With this tool they intend to promote the creation of controlled environments, for limited periods of time, to evaluate the usefulness, viability and impact of technological innovations in the different sectors of productive activity of emerging companies in Spain.
