The coronavirus has modified the new lease contracts for business premises in Spain. In many of the agreements signed since the onset of the pandemic, specific clauses have been introduced on rent reductions or suspensions in the event of another confinement of the population, according to Voz Pópuli.
This new scenario comes at a time when lawsuits by commercial tenants against their landlords are the order of the day. Therefore, these new clauses try to avoid legal disputes because of the now famous rebus sic Stantibus clause.
In this sense, it should be noted that small businesses have already achieved a victory that could set a precedent. It is about an SME that sued against Klepierre (owners of the Plenilunio shopping center) and that avoided eviction for not paying the rents by winning the contest in court. In the car, it states that the pandemic can seriously affect sales until 2022, so executing the guarantee could harm solvency and obtaining credit later.
In this same line, the Madrid businessmen who request the Government of Pedro Sánchez fiscal improvements to get out of the crisis generated by the covid-19 are shown. Madrid Business Forum demands from the Government of Spain, a reduction of the general rate of value added tax (VAT) from the current 21% to 19%, as well as adjusting the tourism tax from the current 10% to 7%, following the example of other European countries.
The president of this association, Hilario Alfaro, points out that "it would be a temporary measure, until June 31, 2021, since we understand that at this time a reduction in VAT would be very positive to boost consumption and stimulate tourism" .
According to Madrid Foro Empresarial, this VAT reduction for hotels, hospitality, passenger transport, travel agencies and other services in the tourism value chain should be one of the measures of a comprehensive and urgent rescue plan that guarantees survival of a sector that represents 15% of GDP and 13% of employment and that has been one of the most affected by the covid-19 pandemic. In this sense, for the organization, the Tourism Promotion Plan launched by the Government in June is insufficient.
