ES - Approval of a New Spanish Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)
On 28 February 2020, the Bill on the Spanish Financial Transaction Tax (the “Bill”) has been published in the official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament.
Broadly speaking, the Spanish FTT would be charged at a rate of 0.2% on the acquisition of listed shares issued by Spanish companies with a market capitalisation exceeding €1 billion, regardless of the jurisdiction of residence of the parties involved in the transaction. It would also apply to the acquisition of shares represented by depositary receipts or acquired on the exercise of an option to convert convertible bonds.
The Bill envisages that certain transactions would be exempt from the Spanish FTT. For instance, to avoid conflicts with the Capital Duties Directive, primary market transactions (including acquisitions by financial intermediaries providing placement services) would be exempt.
The obligation to withhold, self-assess and pay the FTT would fall on the financial intermediary involved in the acquisition of the shares, whether acting in its own name or on behalf of investors, regardless of whether or not the financial intermediary is established in Spain. To simplify the procedure, the Bill envisages an alternative under which these duties would be performed by the central securities depositary (CSD).