Glossary


A

Allowance
Percentage by which the total liability of a tax is reduced. For example, in the Tax on Wealth and Large Fortunes, the allowance of 75% of the total tax liability for the ownership of certain items, actions and/or holdings.

B

Budget
The advance calculation of the income and expenditure of a family, firm or government for a given period of time.

D

Deduction
Amount by which the amount to be paid for a tax is reduced. For example, in the case of Private Income Tax, the deductions are subtracted from the total tax liability resulting after applying the tariff to the net tax base (deduction for descendants, deduction for rental of habitual dwelling, etc.).
Direct tax
Tax that is charged on a person's income. Paid on the generation and receipt of an income.
Documented Legal Acts
These are acts entered into in public documents that may be registered and with a financial amount, such as sale of homes and mortgages.
Donation
Good (money, home, land, etc.) received at no cost from natural living persons.

E

Earnings
Income or reward received for performing an action.
Economic Accord
Economic agreement. The Economic Accord governs the finances and taxes between the autonomous community and the state.
Economic agents
Persons taking part in economic actions: production, distribution and consumption (families, companies and the public sector).
Economic system
Organisation chosen by a society to answer its economic problems; social and economic operations.
Estate
Set of goods, rights and obligations that, when someone dies, may be transferred to the person who inherits them or is the beneficiary of a bequest from them.

G

Good
Material item that satisfies human needs.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Monetary value of the production of finished goods and services of a country during a given period of time, normally one year.

I

Indirect tax
Tax that is levied on production, traffic, expenditure and consumption.
Inflation
Notable and progressive rise in the level of prices of goods and services.

N

Natural person / Corporate entity
A natural person is any human being with a series of rights and obligations. A corporate entity, on the contrary, is any body made up of various natural persons with its own rights and company purposes; it may be for-profit or not-for-profit.
Net tax base
Result after applying the established deductions.

O

Offshore investment
Investment made by a company in other country in order to obtain certain advantages, such as cheaper labour or a reduction in taxes.

P

Profit / Gain
Economic gain obtained when an economic activity is performed.
Public administration
Group of bodies charged with performing the functions of the state.
Public-sector company
Organisation run by the public administration.

R

Rates
Each year, owners of real estate (homes, garages, etc., merely by virtue of being such, are obliged to pay their local town council "rates", a tax on real estate.
Real estate
Goods related to land, buildings, houses, paths, constructions, etc. i.e., unmovable goods.

S

Small enterprise
A company with a workforce of under 50 people.
Succession
Good received by the natural person as inheritance at no cost.

T

Tax base
Amount to which the tax rate is applied; generally, expressed as money (amount of the invoice, income...)
Tax campaign
Period for paying Personal Income Tax. Generally between April-June, although explanations on the tax are published a month beforehand.
Tax fraud
Deceit or avoidance practised on the revenue office.
Tax haven
Country or state with a tax regime that is especially favourable for foreign investment.
Tax rate
The percentage applied to the net tax base.
Tax to be paid
Amount that must be paid once the deductions and surcharges have been applied.
Taxable person
Natural person or corporate entity obliged by law to pay taxes, with material and formal obligations.
Taxpayer
Natural person or corporate entity with an obligation to pay tax.
Transfer of equity
Assignment, donation or sale of the equity (goods, money, shares, etc.) from one person to another.

U

Underground economy
Economic activity performed outside legal obligations.
Unemployment rate
Ratio of unemployed persons to the employed labour force; i.e., the amount of unemployed persons there are for every hundred persons in work.

V

Value added
Increase in the value of the initial product due to the production process.