“All you have is a lot of gifts, but you don’t have a cent”

And it is that the basket ‘The Girl’ (so called because the draw takes place on January 5, one day before the El Niño draw on January 6) brings home impressive prizes every year that few would believe. The gifts he brings reach such a point that, In total, the basket has a value of 850,000 euros. The star prize is none other than an apartment in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz), although two cars (one electric and one hybrid), a camper van, a BMW motorcycle, an electric motorcycle and another personal watercraft also stand out. It also contains a bonus of 5,000 euros for a travel agency, a parachute jump, technological objects (such as mobile phones, tablets, computers and a sound tower) and cleaning and food products.

Despite the sumptuousness of this basket, Paco admits that he continues to “see life the same way, even if you have a good price and things to appreciate.” It’s true that when we started to benefit from it, it was not long ago because, at first, it annoys you a little. It makes you great. And most importantly, you try to get advice and all you find is problems. What if the Treasury question, what if taxes, what if deeds… So, at first, you’re a little crazy. There are times when you are not even happy about what happened to you. Now yes. You realize the reality and start enjoying the rewards available to you. »

a poisoned candy

Of course, as this florist from Casariche already mentioned, not everything is rosy when you already know the prizes you will receive if you win this basket from the El Paisano sale. “This price is excluding tax. Vehicles, for example, are delivered with registration tax paid. The apartment, the company pays income tax. However, now to us The Treasury asks us for the increase in assets in the tax return to be made in 2026in relation to the year 2025, when we will receive the prize. Of course, this increase in assets is significant. And it increases our personal income tax bases, it brings them to something like forty percent. »

It is true that the sale assumes the tax burden, as Paco expresses it. “’El Paisano’, as a company, paid the personal income tax that corresponds to it according to law, which is 19%. However, he specifies that “we will now be put at 43-44%. SO We have to pay the remaining percentage in next year’s tax return. It’s the first thing the advisors talk to you about. »

In this sense, with sincerity, this resident of Casariche recognizes that, when we know the legal procedures that this award has behind it, “It makes you feel like everyone is annoying.. You’ve never had anything of this magnitude and then you start to see that they’re talking to you about paying taxes, paying taxes… There’s a big problem with the price and that’s that it’s one hundred percent in-kind. That is to say that All you have are many gifts, but you don’t have a cent. A family like us, humble and hardworking, who works for themselves with a small business, finds that the world is a little upside down. Then, when you start to get advice and settle down a bit, you realize that you have to prioritize the gifts you have and try to sell them.”

Thus, when making decisions, this family considered that it was above all a question of “put the BMW, electric motorcycle, jet ski and camper van on salewhich is one of the most valuable pieces. We put them up for sale with the disadvantage that the vehicles, as delivered registered, have already lost significant value even if they have not left the house. This is a new vehicle which, since you want to sell it, is already used. We start selling and time is against you because the more time passes, the more the things you want to sell lose value. Thank goodness we managed to make a pretty good sale. campervan, motorcycle and jet ski. It is true that there are people who are on the alert and who are dedicated to trying to find these prices. They’re looking for you, I don’t know how, they call you and tell you they’re interested, but they don’t offer you much.”

Time to really take advantage of the prices

“At the beginning, the first two or three months, we only see problems,” emphasizes Paco. However, “then you realize that’s not the case. My oldest daughter, maybe the one who was a little calmer, said to sell things and earn money to pay taxes“.

Of all these gifts, this Casariche family knew that there had to be something left. It was just a matter of organization and catching up. So, once the obstacles are overcome, Paco realizes how lucky he is. “Right now I have a Mercedes carwho had dreamed of it all his life and who previously could not achieve it. And I also an apartment in Sanlúcar de Barrameda without mortgage, without charges.” In this sense, as the winner points out, this house located in the aforementioned city of Cádiz “is the star of this basket. We have decided that we were going to fight to keep him no matter what. We had a lot of people offering to rent it, people from around town asking if we would rent it this summer. But it was the flagship price and we decided to keep it for the family, to maintain it. That’s the main thing.”

Taking stock of other awards, he reveals that “We also kept the two cars and the tripwho offer 5,000 euros to exchange in an agency. A few days ago, the whole family spent ten days in Türkiye. and the gold bar, 250 gramswe keep it too; Since gold is rising, we decided to save it. »

Concerning the food products, the “atrocity” they received was such that it was decided to distribute them to family, friends and relatives, we gave them some. “From the start, we thought we would share joy with them in a symbolic way. How many buckets of chickpeas, lentils, beans, cans of noodles, rice, macaroni… We made a few small batches which we distributed to our loved ones.“.

And as for the household appliances, “which we initially thought would be used to furnish the apartment, but we were pleasantly surprised when we saw that they were already there”, Paco now has time to use them. “We are going to renovate the entire kitchen of our usual residence and We will install the refrigerator and the new dishwasher.“, he declares. On the other hand, regarding the parachute jump, “it was for one of our friends who had helped us the most in the first days; Since he was excited and we were all scared, we gave it to him as a gift.”

An activity that continues, like the tradition of buying tickets to “El Paisano”

On another note, winning this incredible basket from the ‘El Paisano’ sale has not changed this family one iota in their performance in the florist shop they run.The company remains as is. We continue to work as before, to say the least.“said Paco. And the thing is, “this award has some very good things that are very nice, but there are also expenses. For example, in the apartment in Sanlúcar de Barrameda you have to pay for water, electricity, an alarm that we installed… In addition, we are a family of independents who were not really rich. It’s not that we couldn’t make ends meet, but we also didn’t have much capital saved in the bank. We therefore continue to work normally, as always, and we try to enjoy these gifts that we have“.

As advice or recommendation for the lucky one who will win this basket next Christmas, Paco is clear: “At the beginning have a cool head and know how to give good advice. In all this, it is something to enjoy and be very happy about. You don’t have to be afraid of this either. We had the bad experience that during the first months we were quite scared, but it is something to take advantage of. It’s a very important award.”

Finally, and completely convinced, Paco once again assured his participation in this basket of the El Paisano Sale. In fact, he already has ballots. “The first year I bought them, if I remember correctly, they cost three euros and there was a car and nothing else. One of my daughters told me to play all three cards together, so that if it ever comes time, they belong to everyone. This is how we have always done it. Every year, when I pass by the Venta ‘El Paisano’, I buy. This summer, when I saw that the raffle was taking place, I also. My daughter, the youngest, tells me how I bought again this year, but if I buy every year, why not this year too? So I’m participating again. I have my usual three ballots“.