Tax Newsletter - February 2019 | Legislation

A number of forms for the tax on hydrocarbons have been amended or eliminated

Order HAC/135/2019 of January 31, 2019, amending certain orders relating to the special manufacturing taxes, the tax on retail sales of certain hydrocarbons and VAT, was published in the Official State Gazette on February 16, 2019.

To be noted in relation to the tax on hydrocarbons:

1. The amendment of self-assessment form 581 and the elimination of form 582, following the elimination by the General State Budget Law for 2018 of the autonomous community rate for assessment periods commencing on or after January 1, 2019. Forms 581 and 582 in force until December 31, 2018 will be maintained to allow late, additional or correction returns to be filed in relation to tax periods before 2019.
2. The elimination of form 564 (after five years have run from the end of the assessment periods for the tax on hydrocarbons which were self-assessed on that form).
3. The introduction of various technical adaptations in relation to the new exemption case introduced by Royal Decree-Law 15/2018, applicable to transactions for production and imports of hydrocarbons to be used in the generation of electricity at heat power stations or in the cogeneration of power and heat at combined stations.

Urgent measures approved to mitigate the damage caused by storms and other catastrophes

Royal Decree-Law 2/2019 of January 25, 2019 adopting urgent measures to mitigate the damage caused by storms and other catastrophes occurred in 2018 and adding to the measures previously adopted in decisions by the Council of Ministers dated September 7, October 19 and November 2 2018 was published in the Official State Gazette on January 26, 2019. The royal decree-law itself states that these measures may be applied to any similar events taking place until March 31, 2019 if this is declared by royal decree, after delineating the affected areas.

The envisaged measures include a number of tax benefits such as (i) exemption from real estate tax payments for homes; industrial, tourist, trading, shipping/fishing or professional establishments; crop, livestock and forestry farms; and work premises that have been damaged, where the individuals and assets using them have had to be fully or partially re-accommodated; or (ii) a reduction to the tax on economic activities for similar reasons (damage to premises or assets used for the business that have made it necessary to re-accommodate or temporarily close the business).

Relief is also provided (a) from the fees charged by the traffic authority for removing vehicles from the register or issuing duplicate driving licenses or vehicle registration certificates; or (b) from personal income tax for the exceptional aid for personal injury envisaged in the royal decree-law itself.

Specifically for farming activities a reduction is provided in the net income indexes for the personal income tax objective assessment method and for the simplified special VAT scheme.

This instrument came into force on January 26, 2019.