The self-employed employers’ association proposes bonuses for low income, flexible sick leave and a ’30 rate’

The National Federation of Self-Employed Workers Associations (ATA) has developed a strategic plan to reform self-employment with more than 60 measurements which include bonuses for self-employed workers with low income for two years, flexible leave for progressive or intermittent reintegration in the case of chronic or serious illnesses and a ‘rate 30’ to make regulated studies or Vocational Training (FP) compatible with self-employment.

The plan designed by ATA seeks reduce obstacles and procedures of more than 3 million self-employed workers with proposals in the areas of Social Security, Finance and Employment and has already been made available to all political parties and sent to parliamentary groups.

Among other proposals, the self-employed employers want to improve the regularization procedure of the current RETA, with a maximum base set every year for the entire system and minimum bases established by section of computable income for the purposes of contribution annually in the General State Budgets (PGE) based on the reduced and general tables of 2025, prior agreement of the social dialogue and the representative organizations of the self-employed who, in addition, have an evaluation every three years from the Toledo Pact Commission.

ATA raises the automatic update with CPI of the base of December 31, 2022 for those self-employed who chose to maintain it and that they are allowed to contribute voluntarily in the next regularizations the difference of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 to avoid the loss of purchasing power for benefits and pension.

The Tax Agency will be the one that communicates in an administrative act the income eligible for contribution purposes to the self-employed in order to enable the appeal and correction of these prior to regularization by the General Treasury of Social Security. The deadlines for repayment of overpriced amounts They will be shorter and the return must be made before December 31 of the corresponding fiscal year, according to the ATA proposal.

In addition, it is proposed that the self-employed without income or ‘zero’ income (corporate members and collaborating family members) can maintain and recover their 2022 base when this is higher than its returns.

Regarding pluriactivity, it states that contributions cannot be made above the maximum base of the system and will be quoted based on the base transferred by the Treasury in order to avoid excess contributions by previously declaring the situation of pluriactivity. In addition, it proposes expanding the percentage of expense correction for determining the computable returns for contribution purposes from 3% to 5% for companies and from 7% to 9% for individuals.

Flat rate and hiring incentives

The self-employed employers also propose a flat rate ‘zero’ euros for 2 years and up to 3 years for those under 30 years of age, as well as for women who return after maternity and those whose income does not exceed the minimum wage in the first two years of the flat rate.

Furthermore, when income from self-employment activity is less than half of the annual SMI and contributions are made as an employee in the general regime on a maximum basis, ATA proposes that only registration in the RETA is required for registration purposesbut the self-employed person is exempt from contributions.

ATA wants a bonus on the self-employed quota for two years for those whose income place them in the reduced table as long as they remain continuously registered in that year and are habitual in the following terms: 75% in section 1; by 35% in section 2 and by 15% in section 3.

It is also requested a bonus of 100% of the self-employed quota with serious illnesses from the first day and for the care of minors with serious illnesses, as well as automatic recognition when the termination is definitive, the reduction of the percentages accrediting income reduction to 50% in the case of temporary termination and the extension to self-employed workers of the subsidy for those over 52 years of age.

Regarding hiring incentives, a 50% reduction in social contributions is requested for two years and 100% if the worker is under 35 years old to promote job creation, a 100% subsidized contract for those under 35 years of age in a series of trades and sectors of activity determined by regulation and expand the figure of the self-employed collaborator to non-family members in the case of generational change.

The self-employed employers’ association also requests the extension of maternity leave in two weeks for breastfeeding, establish flexible maternity leave.