Many self-employed in Spain worry about tax bills and social security contributions, but few know that there’s a way to save on taxes that involves working with your spouse or another family member.
Being self-employed in Spain can be a struggle at times. Whether it be the unpredictability of freelance life, the painfully high social security fees or even just the sheer amount of paperwork, many autónomos in Spain worry about their work, including their earnings and taxes.
Fortunately, there’s a way to save on your self-employed tax bill in Spain and it involves hiring your husband or wife.
Note that this could also apply to a relative who is part of the family unit. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘collaborating self-employed worker’ in Spain (autónomo colaborador in Spanish).
A collaborating freelancer can be any direct family member: spouse, children, or other relatives by blood or adoption.
In the case of married couples, they must live at the same address to qualify for this tax saving.
How to save on taxes by hiring a family member
Imagine that your salary is €60,000, which would be a very good income for an autónomo in Spain. You’d pay income tax (IRPF) of €12,698.
In order to save on taxes by hiring your family member, instead of earning that income of €60,000 alone you would earn it with your partner (ie. that between the two of you, you make €60,000). Basically, you’d be splitting your salary in half (or near enough).
Due to Spain’s progressive tax rates, this would mean the income tax bill would be much lower for both salaries than the original €60,000 gross salary.
So say you set your salary at €35,000 and your husband or wife’s at €25,000. The income tax payable for you would be €5,568 and your partner’s €2,951. In other words, you’d save €4,539 if you decided to share your salary.
Note that your partner would still have to pay social security contributions. But even so, the cost of this contribution will likely be less than the tax savings made, depending on the exact salary figures and contributions.
A word of caution. If you decide to do this, your spouse or family member must actually have a real job in the company and both your salaries must be reasonable and roughly in line with what other workers would earn. This is a way to save tax if it works for you as a business and family, not a quick fix.
If you don’t and your spouse is simply used as a way to lower your tax bill, without having any role at the company or business, the authorities will likely be onto you pretty quickly for tax evasion.
How to hire your spouse as a freelancer
To formally employ a collaborating freelancer, you need to go to the Social Security website and download form TA0521/2.
This is used to apply for registration in Spain’s self-employed régimen especial, in this case as a family member working with the person registered as the owner of the business.
By Spanish administrative standards it seems a relatively simple process, mainly because it’s not necessary to register any new ‘economic activity’ with the tax office.
However, you will need to provide a copy of the registration, as well as ID and a copy of the family register that proves the relation or marriage.
For those needing some help with the system and paperwork, many autónomos in Spain opt to hire a gestor, which is something of ‘jack of all trades’ service provided for legal, tax and administrative matters in Spain.
The chapel of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center has a new tenant. This deconsecrated former church, which has housed the MareNostrum 1, 2, 3, and 4 supercomputers since 2005, is now taking an exponential leap forward to become the home of the first publicly accessible Spanish quantum computer built with 100% European technology.
The Quantum Spain project, tasked with bringing this initiative to life, has a budget of €22 million to support the construction of the computer, the creation of the ecosystem to make it accessible, and research into quantum algorithms, a crucial component in advancing this innovative technology.
Building on the mission of the MareNostrum projects, the goal is to provide Spanish research with a tool that promises to revolutionize our understanding of the world in the not-too-distant future, opening up new possibilities in fields ranging from drug design and materials physics to finance and artificial intelligence.
But what exactly can a quantum computer contribute, and how does it differ from a traditional one? “It’s not easy to explain in a single sentence,” says Alba Cervera, the physicist in charge of coordinating the project. “The quick answer is that a quantum computer is a computer that works according to the rules of quantum mechanics, but then we would have to explain what those rules are, and that’s when it gets complicated.”
To understand the difference between a quantum computer and a traditional one, you have to understand the difference between bits and qubits. A bit is the basic unit of information used to write the language that governs conventional computers, and in binary code, it can be expressed as either a 0 or a 1.
A qubit has other types of properties tied to do with the quantum world, in which one thing can be several things at once. Thus, instead of a 1 or a 0, a qubit can be a 0, a 1, or a mixture of both: what is called a superposition of states. But in addition to this, qubits can communicate with each other, so that the signal sent to one qubit affects the others, utilizing another quantum property called entanglement.
“This makes their operation completely different from that of traditional bits and means that the algorithms used to program them must also be of a completely different nature,” explains Cervera.
It’s not, therefore, a question of computing power, but rather the type of operations quantum computers can perform. Comparing the computing power of the MareNostrum 4 supercomputer with that of the MareNostrum 5 is very simple: 13.9 trillion operations per second versus 314 trillion operations per second. When we enter the realm of quantum computing, the issue becomes more complex because these are radically different operations.
It’s true that qubits, with their ability to express a 0, a 1, and all the values in between, exponentially multiply the capacity of traditional chips. But it’s not just that. Entanglement — the way qubits influence one another — is important, but above all, it’s the fact that the algorithms that govern these calculations are of a fundamentally different nature. By utilizing quantum properties, these algorithms can eliminate many steps, allowing quantum computers to solve tasks in minutes that would take a traditional computer years.
“The most immediate example is cryptography,” explains Cervera, “that is, the encryption of information. One of the most widely used forms of cryptography is based on the product of two prime numbers. Multiplying two prime numbers is very simple. But if we are given the product of that multiplication, and we have to figure out which two prime numbers multiplied together give that result, the operation can be truly complex: a task that, depending on the size of the given number, can take thousands of years for an ordinary supercomputer to solve.”
In 1994, U.S. mathematician Peter Shor developed an algorithm that, making use of quantum properties, could solve this problem much more efficiently, turning those thousands of years into mere minutes. “It’s not a question of speed, although that’s the result, but rather a type of algorithm specifically designed to take advantage of quantum properties so that it can solve the problem using far fewer operations, resulting in a much shorter resolution time and also considerable energy savings,” explains Cervera.
The difficulty lies in the fact that quantum hardware is not yet capable of supporting this type of operation. In fact, optimistically, even for algorithms that have been shown to work theoretically — such as Shor’s algorithm — it will take at least 15 years before the technology can take advantage of them. The operation of a quantum computer is still very unstable, and many errors occur. The great challenge lies in correcting these errors to achieve reliable processes.
It’s been said that a quantum computer will be able to solve all of humanity’s problems because it’s capable of analyzing all solutions at the same time, but this isn’t the case either. It’s important to keep in mind that having all the answers is the same as having none. “What starts to matter from there is the ability to formulate the question in such a way that we obtain a useful answer,” says Cervera. “And that, in computer science, translates into designing the correct algorithm.”
The key lies in what is called “quantum supremacy,” in other words, what types of processes can be used to design an algorithm in which quantum technology is more efficient than the most powerful traditional computer. To start, this includes tasks that require simulating interactions in the quantum world: those involving particle physics.
“Developing a drug, for example, requires experimentation with molecules that are composed of atoms, which are composed of particles governed by the rules of quantum mechanics,” says Cervera. “A computer that runs on this technology will be much more suitable for carrying out these types of simulations than one that has to imitate it.”
The same is true for materials physics and the operations required for the development of artificial intelligence. It is believed that it could also be very useful in optimizing logistics processes such as shipping Amazon packages or financial problems such as optimizing investment portfolios, but these applications are still being studied.
To function optimally, a quantum chip needs to be kept in a vacuum to isolate it from any potential disturbances, and at a temperature close to absolute zero, or -273 degrees Celsius. The chip itself occupies no more than six square centimeters. All the equipment we see associated with a quantum computer is designed to create this vacuum and bring the temperature down to such extremely low levels.
Once operational, the quantum computer will become part of MareNostrum 5 and will join the Spanish supercomputing network, of which the Barcelona Supercomputing Center is both a member and coordinator. This will make it available for free to any researcher. Anyone needing to carry out experiments involving tasks that require this technology can submit a project proposal, which will be evaluated and approved by a committee of experts from the center.
We are, therefore, witnessing the most advanced technology in the world, while simultaneously being at the dawn of what this technology can offer. When we observe the brand-new five-qubit chip that has just been installed in the chapel of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, we are actually witnessing a moment that will be studied in the future as a pivotal point in the history of quantum computing in Spain, much like the punch cards of the last century mark the origin of traditional computing. It is an initiatory moment, and only time will reveal where it may lead us.
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Dos clanes familiares con un largo historial de desavenencias han tenido este miércoles un nuevo episodio violento a plena luz del día y en la calle, a la vista de todo el mundo. Poco antes del mediodía, en el barrio del Almanjáyar, en la zona norte de Granada, miembros de ambas bandas se vieron involucrados en una pelea que acabó a tiros y con varias decenas de personas metidas en la riña. Los hechos ocurrieron en la plaza Rey Badis, en una zona deprimida de la ciudad y a escasos metros de un centro de servicios sociales comunitarios y de un centro ocupacional de incorporación social. La pelea se saldó con un hombre herido por arma de fuego en el costado, y cuya vida no corre peligro, y una mujer con problemas respiratorios por inhalar spray de pimienta
Dada la hora y la afluencia de gente, la reyerta fue grabada y las imágenes de la disputa circulan de teléfono en teléfono desde entonces. Según ha informado la policía, que no ha realizado ninguna detención, uno de los clanes involucrados es el de Los mocos,dedicado al cultivo y tráfico de marihuana desde hace años en la zona norte y bien conocida por la Policía. En las imágenes de la reyerta, se percibe cómo uno de los intervinientes saca de repente una pistola y apunta a las personas cercanas. Casi a la vez, se escuchan varias detonaciones de armas de fuego. La Policía no ha sido capaz de determinar si el herido lo es por ese hombre armado que se ve en los vídeos o no.
Los mocos son conocidos desde que, en 2019, una gran operación policial contra ellos detuviera a una docena de sus miembros, algunos de ellos menores de edad. En aquel momento, la Policía les acusó de diversos delitos, entre otros, tráfico de drogas, extorsión y blanqueo de capitales. Ya entonces, hace más de cinco años y medio, Los mocos eran conocidos por participar en numerosos ajustes de cuentas y no solo para los propios, sino por encargo de otras bandas.
El Conflicto En Oriente Próximo, En Directo | Israel Emite Nuevas órdenes De Evacuación Para Localidades Del Sur De Gaza: “Esta Es La última Advertencia Antes Del Ataque”
Israel cometió crímenes de guerra en hospitales de Gaza, según Human Rights Watch
La organización Human Rights Watch (HRW) acusó este jueves a las fuerzas militares israelíes de causar muertes y sufrimientos “innecesarios” a pacientes palestinos mientras ocupaban hospitales en Gaza, algo que “equivale a crímenes de guerra”.
Según el último informe de HRW, varios testigos de tres hospitales de la Franja dijeron que los militares de Israel negaron electricidad, agua, alimentos y medicinas a los pacientes, así como dispararon a civiles, maltrataron a trabajadores sanitarios y destruyeron “deliberadamente” instalaciones y equipos médicos.
La organización entrevistó a nueve pacientes y dos miembros del personal sanitario que estaban presentes cuando el ejército israelí asaltó y ocupó entre 2023 y 2024 los hospitales Al Shifa (en Ciudad de Gaza); Kamal Adwan (en Beit Lahia) y Nasser (en Jan Yunis).
En estos complejos médicos, donde al menos 84 pacientes fallecieron por falta de atención sanitaria —sin contar los muertos por bombardeos o disparos—, las fuerzas militares de Israel interfirieron “gravemente” en el tratamiento de heridos y enfermos, apuntó la organización. Los sanitarios entrevistados afirmaron que el ejército se negó a llevar medicinas y otros suministros a los pacientes y bloqueó el acceso a los hospitales y las ambulancias, lo que causó la muerte de heridos y enfermos crónicos, entre ellos niños en tratamiento de diálisis.
Según HRW, esta privación de alimentos, agua y otros insumos por parte de las autoridades israelíes constituye “un crimen de lesa humanidad de exterminio y actos de genocidio”.
Una de las fuentes citadas por la organización, Ansam al-Sharif, que fue hospitalizada tras perder una pierna en un ataque aéreo israelí y necesitaba muletas para caminar, contó que ella y el resto de pacientes del hospital Nasser pasaron cuatro días sin comida, agua, ni medicinas.
“La ocupación militar israelí de los hospitales de Gaza ha transformado lugares de curación y recuperación en centros de muerte y maltrato. Los responsables de estos horribles abusos, incluidos los altos mandos, deben rendir cuentas”, anotó el director adjunto de Derechos del Niño de HRW, Bill Van Esveld.
HRW también cuestiona las evacuaciones forzosas de los hospitales ordenadas por las fuerzas israelíes, que pusieron en “grave peligro” tanto a los enfermos como al personal sanitario, ya que se vieron obligados a trasladarse sin asistencia incluso si iban en camilla o en silla de ruedas. Y denuncia que los militares quemaron o destruyeron ilegalmente algunos edificios de estos complejos médicos tras las evacuaciones.
Según los administradores del hospital Al Shifa citados por HRW, solo entre el 11 y el 17 de noviembre murieron en él 40 pacientes, en gran parte debido a los cortes de electricidad.
Todo ello sin que las autoridades israelíes hayan anunciado una investigación sobre presuntas violaciones graves del derecho internacional humanitario en los hospitales de Gaza —entre las que se incluyen “aparentes crímenes de guerra”— cometidas por militares de Israel.
HRW recuerda que el derecho internacional humanitario establece que las partes implicadas en un conflicto deben respetar y proteger los hospitales, así como tomar todas las precauciones posibles para minimizar los daños a los pacientes, el personal y las instalaciones.
El informe de HRW tiene lugar apenas unos días después de que Israel rompiera el martes el alto el fuego con Hamás con unos bombardeos que han provocado la muerte de más de 400 palestinos. (Efe)
