The Ministry of Social Security should present to the European Commission on June 30 a reform of the contribution system for self-employed workers, but it will do so with a very tight deadline and, predictably, if the agreement of the social agents, with whom it has stretched the maximum trading time without an agreement in sight.
Social Security sent last Saturday to the main associations of this group with more than three million affiliates its proposals to reform the system of contributions and benefits, so that they contribute based on their real income, as proposed by the reform.
The last approach establishes several tranches based on these net yields and lowers the minimum quota, as well as the intermediate tranches to increase it in the highest. Specifically, the minimum fee would start at 245 euros per month up to a higher one of 565 euros per month. For this last section, the change supposes 15 euros more per month while for the lower one, it supposes a reduction of five euros per month.
In the intermediate sections, those who declare a net income of between 1,700 and 1,850 euros would pay 30 euros less per month, when paying 370 euros per month. The reduction is 40 euros -up to 400 euros- for those who earn between 1,850 and 2,030 euros, while for those who declare between 2,030 and 2,330 euros it is set at 440 euros.
The proposal comes after a long period of negotiation in which the price tables and the application deadlines have undergone numerous variations. In the absence of what happens this week, it has not served to obtain unanimous support for the reform. The ATA association, the largest in the sector and linked to CEOE, has already announced that it sees the agreement as very difficult.
Lorenzo Amor, its president, considers Escrivá’s proposal “unacceptable.” “A self-employed person who earns 1,700 euros a month is going to have to pay 900 euros more in contributions per year, 26% more,” he pointed out, recalling that the situation of the group requires that costs be withdrawn instead of charging them with more.
For his part, Eduardo Abad, president of UPTA, has considered the negotiation practically over, encouraging the Government to legislate, even if it is without the support of the entire sector. “I think that it is time to make decisions and if this system has to be born with the agreement of 100% of the parties involved, it would be ideal. If not, the Government has to make decisions now that can change the lives of 3,4 million self-employed workers.
For its part, for the Union of Associations of Autonomous Workers and Entrepreneurs (Uatae), the Ministry must be even “more ambitious in reducing quotas for groups with less income”, as sources from this organization have pointed out to Europa Press.
Uatae also values the proposals to improve the benefit for cessation of activity, unveiled at the previous meeting, and believes that the Social Security proposals “have good intentions but they must be improved.”
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