The Círculo de Empresarios supports Spanish galleries and demands a reduction in the VAT applicable to works of art

Business Circle has aligned itself with the claims of the Spanish art galleries and has published a takeover in which it also calls for VAT reduction for sales of works of art antiques and collectibles, similar to what countries like France, Italy, Germany or Portugal have. “Limits the development of a dynamic, accessible and competitive cultural market“, they assert.

In the letter, to which Europa Press has had access, they recall that most of the art buying and selling operations in Spain, especially those brokered by galleries, are taxed with a VAT of 21%, which is “well above that applied” in nearby countries.

“Fiscally penalizing art is equivalent to penalizing an industry with the capacity to generate economic value, qualified employment and international projection. The 21% VAT places Spain in a clearly misaligned position with respect to Europe“said the president of the Círculo de Empresarios, Juan María Nin Génova.

Concretely, Italy taxes these operations at 5%, France at 5.5%, Portugal at 6% and Germany at 7%. “This tax difference penalizes the Spanish cultural fabric and favors the relocation of artists, galleries and collectors to other European markets,” explains the Círculo de Empresarios.

Last Friday, the Consortium of Contemporary Art Galleries announced that Spanish galleries will interrupt their activity by closing their doors from February 2 to 7 in response to the “paralysis and lack of response” from the Government on a VAT reduction.

Now, the businessmen support their complaints by reiterating one of the demands that the gallery owners had already made and which has to do with the fact that the tax regime that taxes works of art “It does not affect in the same way” other cultural areas, such as literary works, performing arts, cinema or music, which, they explain, “already enjoy reduced rates.”

“It is precisely this asymmetry that places the art market in Spain in a position of clear disadvantage compared to other cultural sectors and compared to the main European countries,” they recall.

The document highlights that the tax treatment of art in Spain acts as “a barrier” both for artistic creation and for public access and adds that “the impact” is “especially negative” for young and emerging artistswho face “greater difficulties” in entering the market and “fewer incentives” to develop their careers in Spain.

On the other hand, they point out that this type of VAT “reinforces the perception of art as a luxury good and limits the access of broad sections of the population to the enjoyment of works of art in the domestic sphere” and ask that the reduction not be seen as a “loss in revenue” but rather as a “strategic investment” because “a lower tax would favor gallery activity, the attraction of international fairs and collectors, the circulation of cultural heritage and the professionalization of the artistic ecosystem.”

In this context, the Círculo de Empresarios urges immediate progress in the transposition of European Directive 2022/542, as Spanish gallery owners and artists have already done on several occasions, who have recalled that the deadline for this transposition expired in December 2024.

From the Ministry of Culture they assure that they know “the demand of the sector” and share it, as sources from the department headed by Ernest Urtasun have explained to Europa Press, but they remember that “it depends” on the Ministry of Financeto whom the request has been “transmitted on more than one occasion.”