The Government of Canarias has agreed during the Government Council, held this Monday, to modify the tax quota of the Inheritance and Gift Tax and subsidize it by 99.9%, returning it to the situation it was in on December 31, 2019. This decision has been taken at the proposal of the Ministry of Finance and European Affairs, chaired by Matilde Asián.
Asián believes that this tax, as it has been conceived in recent years, represents "an unjustified over-taxation on Income because it has been taxed when it is obtained, and on Wealth, when it is taxed when it is saved." In addition, in her opinion, "it also makes no sense that in a Community like the Canary Islands, which has a tax regime with favorable taxation, we Canarians have to pay more for this concept than in other Spanish regions that do have the tax subsidized."
According to a statement from the Government of the Canary Islands, "the measure would implement the provisions of the Government Pact through the agreement to improve the quality of life and modernization of the Canary Islands, which establishes the application of a fair tax policy, progressive and balanced that seeks, as a fundamental objective, to alleviate the tax pressure on the taxpayer and provide liquidity to citizens in a context of high inflation. In addition, it would reinforce family savings and, with it, allow them to adopt the economic decisions they deem appropriate to boost the economy as a whole."
This regulatory change is intended, precisely, to protect middle and low incomes that, fundamentally, derive from labor income. According to the Government, with data from the General Council of Notaries, "in 2022 some 2,000 Canarians rejected the assets that came to them through inheritances from ancestors or relatives, breaking a record that places the Autonomous Community among the regions with the highest percentage of heirs who decline the due succession, mainly due to the costs involved in acceptance.
To this must be added the excessive tax costs involved in carrying out tax planning to transfer assets by inheritance (successions) or inter vivos for lucrative purposes (donations)." It continues: "It is also about mitigating, as far as possible, the sharp increase in direct taxation that the increase in the reference values of real estate has caused after the rule that came into force on July 1, 2021." With this regulatory change in the Inheritance and Gift Tax, we are aligning ourselves with the regions that have greater economic dynamism, assures the government formed by the Canarian Coalition, the Popular Party and AHI.