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Spain double taxation

armdom64

New member
May 30, 2021
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Costa Rica
Hello folks,

I'm looking for some advice. I'm a citizen of Costa Rica and legally a tax resident in Spain. Situation is as follows:
  1. I'm employed by a company in Spain, for which I pay the regular taxes/social security as usual. I reside in Spain most of the year.
  2. I perform other activities for a company residing in the United States, income that goes to Costa Rica
  3. I report taxes on those activities in Spain since starting.
Considering this. What legal options there are to establish my extra activity in Panama/Dominican Republic to avoid double taxation in Spain?
Thanks in advance.

armdom64
 
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@armdom64 legally if you live in Spain you can't not pay taxes in Spain. If you are an EU citizen and don't register in Spain, just live there as a 'tourist' maybe you can go unnoticed, there were plenty doing so living in Airbnbs and such, especially Brits before Brexit but it's not legal. It's not a territorial taxation country.
 
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What I mean, is it possible to file taxes in Panama, while living in Spain? The activities would be performed within Spain for a company outside of Spain.
Would it still be within the limits?

Read the DTA text in link I sent or link bellow. As Spain is a place no sane person with ambition or money would ever want to live or make their tax residence I have not looked into it personally in any detail. You may need to utilize a Spanish tax advisor for help in this area

https://www.boe.es/eli/es/ai/2010/10/07/(1)/con

--- quote (using google translate)

Article 14. Provision of services.​

1. Income obtained by a resident of one Contracting State for the provision of services performed in the other Contracting State may be taxed in the Contracting State mentioned first. However, such income may also be taxed in the other Contracting State, provided that the services are professional services, consulting services, industrial or commercial advice, technical or management services or other similar services. However, the tax thus required may not exceed 7.5 percent of the gross amount of said payments when the effective beneficiary of said payments is a resident of the other Contracting State.

2. The expression « professional services » includes independent, scientific, literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities, as well as the independent activities of doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists and accountants.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 do not apply if the person providing the services, resident of one Contracting State, performs in the other Contracting State, activities through a permanent establishment located in that other State, and the payments received for its services are effectively linked to said permanent establishment. In such cases, the provisions of article 7 shall apply.

4. When the payer of said income, whether or not he is a resident of a Contracting State, have in one of the Contracting States a permanent establishment in relation to which the obligation to pay for the services derives and that it assumes the burden thereof, said income from services will be considered coming from the State where the permanent establishment is located.

5. When, due to the special relationships existing between the service provider and the payer thereof, or those that one and the other maintain with third parties, the amount of the income for services exceeds that which the provider and the payer would have agreed in the absence of such relationships, the provisions of this article shall apply only to the latter amount. In such case, the excess may be taxed in accordance with the legislation of each Contracting State, taking into account the other provisions of this Agreement.

--- quote end
 
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Read the DTA text in link I sent or link bellow. As Spain is a place no sane person with ambition or money would ever want to live or make their tax residence I have not looked into it personally in any detail. You may need to utilize a Spanish tax advisor for help in this area
You can't help but smile when reading some of your replies. Although you're probably right, I know several wealthy people who have moved to Spain in the last five years, and they are very satisfied. But maybe they're just used to paying Danish taxes, so they don't mind the Spanish taxes.
 
Thanks for your reply, Martin.
What I mean, is it possible to file taxes in Panama, while living in Spain? The activities would be performed within Spain for a company outside of Spain.
Would it still be within the limits?

As long as Hacienda doesn't find out about the money you make outside of Spain you're good, so do not transfer funds into Spain from any foreign bank, and do not use a debit card from a foreign bank while you're a tax resident in Spain.
 
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And if you have a EMI or Neobank account in Panama they will not report to Spain ?
 
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