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Tax regulations

1) DISTRIBUTION OF COMPETENCES

EThe Economic Agreement acknowledges full faculties to the competent Institutions of the Historical Territories in order to establish and administer, within their territories, their own taxation system, with the only exception of the competences specifically attributed as exclusive to the Spanish state:

  • The ones concerning the import duties and import levies included under Excise Duties and Value Added Tax.
  • High inspection of the Economic Agreement

In the execution of their faculties the Historical Territories of the Basque Country must respect several general principles and some particular fiscal harmonization and cooperation rules, contained in section 1 of Chapter I of the Concert (articles 2 to 4).

In order to carry out the administration competences, the Economic Agreement confers the same abilities to act to the Historical Territories as the ones conferred by the law to the Spanish state’s Treasury.

2) GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE TAX SYSTEM

The Economic Agreement establishes several general principles that can be classify into two big groups. On the one hand, principles of constitutional or statutory nature, can be distinguished, i.e. solidarity or submission to International Treaties and,on the other, principles strictly linked to the faculties within the Agreement, being one of them even of exclusive application to the relations among the Historical Territories of the Basque Country (coordination, fiscal harmonization and mutual cooperation pursuant to the regulations enacted by the Basque Parliament for these purposes).

Among the principles in the second group, the following ones can be highlighted:

  • Regard for the general structure of the taxation system of the State..
  • Some harmonization rules qthe Historical Territories must respect when drafting their legislation, among which the maintenance of an overall effective fiscal pressure equivalent to that in force in the rest of the State and the safeguard of the freedoms of movement of persons, goods, capital and services.
  • Some cooperation rules among the Institutions of the Historical Territories and the State Administration, in respect to three main scopes: exchange of legislative drafts, participation of the Institutions in the Basque Country in the negotiation and application of international Agreements and exchange of information.