Spain is the most competitive country in Europe in meetings and events tourism
Spain is the most competitive European country for services related to meetings and events tourism, a circumstance that our destinations are taking advantage of to attract groups of visitors from all over the world. This advantage derives from the new VAT regime for travel agencies, according to the analysis carried out by the experts at Forum Business Travel.
Although it is not explicitly specified in the VAT law (LIVA) that applies since January last year, several queries from travel agencies associations to the tax administration have resulted in a body of doctrine that allows deducting this tax from meetings and events organized in our country. In addition, invoicing to the client can be done without charging VAT on the organizer's profit margin.
“This interpretation of the law, which comes from a European directive, has only been made in Spain, so we are in a truly privileged situation with respect to the rest of the world;
Javier López Sabaté, consultant of the company CLM Asesores and guest speaker at Forum Business Travel.
Before the law came into force, the organization of conventions, congresses and events was separated from the complementary services of transportation and accommodation for participating groups. Since the LIVA is in force, the provision has been considered integral thanks to the so-called Service Ú nico Complex Service of Event Organization (SUCOE), by which agencies or other suppliers of this market can tax the whole package in the General VAT regime, instead of the Special Regime of Travel Agencies (REAV).
For their part, companies with a high business travel budget (Business Travel) are also benefiting from a more competitive tax framework in which the agencies that provide them with transportation, accommodation or car rental services, among others, operate. The so-called MICE sector (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) is the one that receives the best treatment, except for incentives, which are considered a travel service subject to the REAV, although with the possibility of waiver.
Forum Business Travel has also analyzed this situation from the perspective of the purchasing departments of travel companies. In this sense, savings are no longer the ultimate goal of travel managers, although it is clear that it is still one of their main objectives. As Alejandro Palmarola, purchasing manager at Calidad Pascual, “we are increasingly looking more and more at social issues, the balance between travel and personal life, even sustainability criteria”.
For Gema Vázquez, purchasing manager at Danone Iberia, “ the role of this department is to ensure the right quantity and quality at the right time and at the right price”.In his opinion, at least in the case of travel, the balance should be 50/50, with a maximum of: "Don't buy what you want, but what you need.