Eight out of ten Spanish companies are pessimistic about 2026 due to the political situation and feel “harassed” by taxes

The political situation in Spain weighs on the spirits of Spanish businessmen. This is one of the conclusions of the ‘Study on Business Climate in Spain’ prepared annually by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce together with Sigma Dos based on 1,900 surveys carried out between August 25 and September 19 of this year. Specifically, eight out of ten Spanish companies are pessimistic regarding the evolution of the Spanish economy next year and 40.8% point to the sociopolitical situation as the main risk in Spain. They follow the evolution of the prices of energy and raw materials (27.7%), as well as geopolitical tensions between the great powers (25.8%). It should be noted that the lack of General Budgets for 2026 also raises significant concern with 25.6%. His negative vision regarding investment in Spain for next year is also transversal, especially in industry and agri-food. In addition to everything related to job creationespecially in tourism, hospitality and restaurants

More optimistic about their situation

This contrasts with the greater optimism of companies when it comes to addressing their own situation. The study by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce highlights that eight out of ten Spanish companies They affirm that they are meeting or improving their expectations regarding this year. 48.9% assure that their situation this year is in line with their objectives while 28.4% assure that they are exceeding them. Only 22.7% affirm that it is slightly below of your expectations. The optimism of companies increases as their size increases and, by sector, the activities that are most positive are construction, tourism, hospitality and restaurants.

The president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, has pointed out this paradox as “a contradiction between the responses that take into account their own performance and that of the economy in general.” In this regard, he highlighted that “everyone meets or improves their forecast regarding the performance of their company, but the performance of the economy is a disaster in general.” Bonet added that “Companies criticize the incoherent policy that does not suit the Spanish economy. This is a country that has made an impressive leap made by companies and public-private cooperation, which has gone even better when there has been political consensus, which is neither there nor expected.” For the head of the chambers of commerce, “the majority of companies are SMEs and “They are burdened by taxes and social contributions” and they react by secluding themselves “in their winter quarters” abandoning their “duties” to invest more and internationalize while waiting for a future change.

Regarding 2026, a similar scheme is repeated: 52.2% of Spanish companies are positive, although pessimism is greater among companies with less than 10 workers where 53.8% have a more negative perception. By sectors, optimism affects activities related to tourists and construction. They are much more pessimistic in branches of activity such as commerce and industry. Asked about the evolution in aspects such as sales, exports and imports and personnel hiring, 62.5% expect the sales prices of their goods or services to increase. While 49.6% think the same in relation to sales in Spain and 44.5% also maintain that they will increase their exports. Something especially notable in the agri-food sector, where optimism soars.

Labor costs, the biggest headache

Regarding the difficulties that companies face, businessmen point out that the main challenge or difficulty is the inincrease in labor costs (40.6%) especially among smaller companies, followed by shortage of labor or suitable profiles (38.7%) to which they are especially sensitive in construction and tourism. Closes the podium of headaches high tax pressure (35.6%). On the other hand, companies have also been asked about their knowledge of the Next Generation funds and, according to the study by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, 62.6% of companies already know these instruments. This is 2 points more than a year ago. This contrasts with the 40.6% who declared this in 2021. However, only 24.5% claim that they have requested this type of aid. Among those who have done it, the balance is very positive: 67.1% assure that the experience has been satisfactory. Knowledge about Next Generation is much greater among companies with 50 to 99 workers from the industry, commerce and services sectors, although only 4 out of 10 companies know how to access them.