The more than three million self-employed workers in Spain are trying to balance their accounts by 2026 with certain social contributions which should theoretically be maintained no change given the paralysis of negotiations between the government … and social agents to modify the quotas until 2031. The initial proposal for an increase, rejected by businessmen and with which the Minister of Social Security, Elma Sáiz, quickly reversed course, was blocked no new changes until today.
One week before the end of the year, Social Security continues without giving any signs on how social security contributions will be prepared from January 1 for self-employed workers. With the Council of Ministers This Tuesday, the last of the year, the sector hopes that the Executive will approve the extension of current contributions. Because today, “there are no contacts” with the independentsaccording to the president of ATA, Lorenzo Amor. Remember that the October 20 the last contact has taken place. And for two months, there have been no more formal or discreet negotiations, indicate these same sources.
From Social Security, they emphasize that they continue to talk to “reach the best agreement.” “Our hand is outstretched,” they insist, because “the measures we are proposing are beneficial and strengthen the social shield.” The department headed by Saiz, now also the minister’s spokesperson, insists that “we must continue extension of protective action self-employed workers” and that their intention is to do so with “consensus”.
If contributions remain frozen, from January 1, self-employed people will continue to pay them until This situation is definitely resolved. The conflict comes from far away. Two months ago, pressure from the main self-employed organization, the ATA, opposition groups and government allies led Social Security to reverse its initial proposal to increase self-employed contributions by up to 35% next year.
A controversial proposal
The department led by Elma Saiz then proposed freezing the quota in 2026 for those who earn up to 1,167 euros per monththose included in the first three sections with the lowest yields, the so-called reduced rate. For the rest of the workers, those with net incomes higher than the SMI, increases of between 1% and 2.5%, which would correspond to those who earn between 1,167 euros per month and 6,000 euros.
In this way, the government had already ruled out applying the contributions six years in advance, as it had done scheduled for early October. And he only proposed changes to social security contributions for 2026, without going any further. Self-employed workers themselves have complained that it is not viable to set quotas before 2031 without knowing how the Spanish economy and their own businesses will evolve in six years.
This offer was light years away from the government’s first approach, with increases for the more than three million self-employed workers regardless of their income and increases in their contributions of between 200 and 2,474 euros per month. This idea was nuanced by the organization led by Lorenzo Amor of “sablazo” and “flight” He presented his red lines to the Executive: freeze the lowest incomes and increase the rest with the CPI. The initial idea of Social Security was to raise an additional 6 billion in three years.
Although 2026 begins with frozen quotas, the intention of the Executive is to modify the contributions of these professionals to continue to adapt them to their real income. Unions CC.OO. and the UGT are in favor of a modification of the systemas initially agreed in 2022, although if Social Security does it, it will only be with its support and while waiting for Congress to validate a measure that continues to depend of Junts approval, clearly opposed to the modification of social security contributions for the self-employed.
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