Ortega is poised to receive a record dividend of €3.1bn (£2.7bn) this year from his shares in Zara’s parent group, Inditex. He is reportedly racing to spend the windfall, which would otherwise be subject to wealth taxes. Sources close to Pontegadea told the Guardian it was not investing to avoid tax, but following its mandate “to create wealth from the original assets, maintain it, make it grow, and consolidate it over generations”.
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What is clear is that, two years on, a predicted exodus of the rich, trumpeted in endless alarmist headlines, has not materialised. Forbes counted 26 Spanish billionaires in 2021. This year, it lists 34, with a combined net worth comfortably over $200bn.
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So far, there is no sign that it has affected growth. Spain was the world’s fastest-expanding major advanced economy last year, outpacing even the US, with GDP up 3.2%. By contrast, growth in the UK and France last year barely scraped above 1%. On the balconies of the Planeta building, and in the country at large, the green shoots are alive and well.
I mean, I’m not really understanding how this is a win “for the people”. As per the article, the tax itself is quite small, and there is a loophole allowing them to not be taxed on real estate investments. So they are just shifting their wealth to real estate.
This is good shit:
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I mean, I’m not really understanding how this is a win “for the people”. As per the article, the tax itself is quite small, and there is a loophole allowing them to not be taxed on real estate investments. So they are just shifting their wealth to real estate.