The Cercle d’Economia headquarters brought together more than 100 people on March 20th for the Fiscal Forum 1.2 organized by the Barcelona Institute of Economics. This event continues the series of meetings launched by the IEB in 2012 to open a debate on the Spanish tax system.

To discuss the issue at the center of this edition, a roundtable discussion was held with the participation of José María Durán-Cabré, professor of economics at the University of Barcelona and director of the IEB; Álvaro Escuder, partner at Cuatrecasas; and Alejandro Esteller-Moré, professor of economics at the University of Barcelona and researcher at the IEB.

Durán and Esteller analyzed the current tax situation in Spain, with special mention being made of the Catalan case. In this regard, they highlighted the current inconsistencies in the tax over time, between autonomous communities, depending on the type of assets transferred, and between inheritances and donations. For his part, Escuder highlighted the importance of protecting the transfer of business assets in Catalonia, expanding the concept of family group in both wealth and inheritance taxes, as well as ensuring that business self-financing can be included in business profits.

Following the roundtable, Professor Daniel Waldenström, professor of economics and director of the Tax and Society research program at the Stockholm Institute of Industrial Economics, spoke. Author of the book “Richer and More Equal: A New History of Wealth in the West,” Waldenström offered a new perspective on the role of capital in Western economies, examining wealth generation and inequality over 130 years.

In his lecture, Waldenström first analyzed the evolution of inequality in wealth distribution. Taking data from several developed countries on the total accumulation of wealth and that of the richest 1% of the population, he concludes that countries are richer and more equal, with growth, increased property ownership by the middle classes, and the success of entrepreneurs being the main arguments explaining this situation. Secondly, regarding inheritances, he argued that their value has not increased relative to total national wealth, and that the value of inherited wealth actually weighs less over time. He also explained that although wealthy heirs receive more assets, inheritances weigh more heavily on the total assets of less wealthy heirs. This, combined with various problems generated by wealth taxes, leads him to argue that capital should be taxed, not through wealth or inheritance taxes, but through capital income taxes.

The event was closed by Francesc Trillas, Secretary of Economic Affairs and European Funds of the Generalitat de Catalunya.