Spain: Constitutional challenge to temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes
The court denied the request for suspension of the contested provision.
Constitutional challenge
The plenary session of the Constitutional Court has agreed to hear a constitutional challenge brought by the regional government of Andalusia against article 3 of Law 38/2022, introducing the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes (ITSGF).
However, the court denied the request for suspension of the contested provision.
The law, passed at the end of 2022, introduced the following measures:
- Temporary levy on large fortunes chargeable for the first time on 31 December 2022 and affecting individuals with net wealth exceeding €3,000,000 (read TaxNewsFlash)
- Temporary levy on financial institutions, applicable in 2023 and 2024
- Temporary levy on certain energy companies
The bases for the constitutional challenge of the ITSGF include:
- Breach of the financial independence of the autonomous regions and the body of legal and constitutionality rules on devolved taxes
- Breach of the right to political representation (article 23.2 of the Spanish Constitution), the principle of constitutional and institutional loyalty (article 2.1.g of Organic Law 8/1980 on Financing of the Autonomous Regions) and the principle of legal certainty (article 9.3 of the Spanish Constitution)
KPMG observation
Consistent with the court’s decision (182/2021) on the tax on the increase in urban land value (commonly referred to as the municipal capital gains tax), the effects of a decision upholding the challenge against the ITSGF might be limited to those who had previously appealed the tax.
Read an April 2023 report [PDF 134 KB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Spain
For further information, contact a KPMG professional in Spain:
Jose Luis Lopez Hermida | jllopezhermida@kpmg.es
Xavier Aixela | xaixela@kpmg.es
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