CEUTA SPECIAL
Timeline of success as a destination for online companies

Beyond the fiscal advantages, which are understood in an obligatory context of balancing Ceuta in the face of the logical weakness of its environment compared to the peninsular territory, the Autonomous City has become the nerve center of the gaming sector and of technology companies for the enormous effort of its authorities, which as we will discover in this article, have made the operators who have settled in the Autonomous City feel at home ...

More than attractive destination for regulated operators

Focusing now on the gaming industry, one of the hallmarks and main differences that Ceuta continues to maintain with jurisdictions such as Gibraltar, Cyprus or Malta is that the operators that have settled in the city are practically all companies that operate in markets. European regulated.

The priority of quality, reputation and solvency has turned the business environment of our sector in Ceuta into a reflection of the new reality of the industry today, making Ceuta a location capable of giving access to the advantages offered by the European market under unquestionable legal certainty.

Taxation as an incentive

Since the spring of 2018, when the then Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro decided to introduce in the General State Budgets a series of tax cuts and explicit economic support for companies of a technological nature that wanted to settle in the autonomous cities, Ceuta became in an excellent option for dozens of gaming operators who are focused on the Spanish market or among those who were looking for alternatives to their international expansion avoiding the impact of Brexit.

Among the most conclusive tax advantages, we highlight:

• The reduction of the gaming tax from 20% to 10%.
• The reduction of corporation tax from 25% to 11.8%.
• The employer's share of Social Security is subsidized in Ceuta with 50%
• A reduced VAT, which in the Peninsula is estimated at 21% and in Ceuta was set at 4%
• A 75% bonus on Wealth Tax

Although the list is endless, pointing out, for example, relevant discounts of 50% on inheritance and gift taxes, property transfers and documented legal acts or the majority of local taxes. Expanding even to discounts on the Income Tax of Physical Persons (60%).

Much more than low taxes

However, the Government of the Autonomous City of Ceuta has not wanted to settle for the coldness - albeit desirable - of the figures related to taxation and through excellent work to develop infrastructures, enhance strength and job skills and extend legal protection measures for companies, has been able to multiply the effectiveness of tax incentives so that its territory becomes an asset in itself of the operators installed in the City.

The transition to an economy where technology and business development is key has also been part of the success that the Ceuta Administration must recognize, as the Minister of Economy and Finance, Kissy Chandiramani, one of the key figures, has highlighted many times. in this process, whom we had the honor of interviewing in his first statements to a specialized media.

Thus, the economy, employment, the legal environment with guarantees, the evident improvement in infrastructure, coordination with the authorities and a generous program of aid and incentives are compelling arguments that explain the arrival of dozens of operators, consultants, lawyers and affiliates related to the technology sector in general and gaming in particular.

Make easy the installation of companies: a priority

But it is the active role of the Ceuta Administration that explains the incessant arrival of companies and professionals in the sector to the Autonomous City. As we will see in the infographic in the next section, if the public project to attract investment to Ceuta has stood out for anything, it is because of its active role in offering a set of high-end services dedicated to facilitating the installation of companies.

Without unfeasible conditions and with common sense as a flag, so that companies that want to enjoy all the advantages mentioned above, must only meet two requirements: have a tax residence and be really based in Ceuta; being the requirements and the terms in which they have to be met to meet both conditions are extremely reasonable.

We offer you the interview in spanish granted by Enrique Reyes, MANAGING DIRECTOR of CEUTA TAX SERVICES in the last edition of LONDON ICE 2020: