A self-employed worker has advised fellow autonomos in Spain to ‘leave the country’ due to its ‘punishing’ tax system.
Dario Fernandez Ruz told his almost 50,000 Instagram followers that he has decided to ‘abandon’ his family and friends after working eight years as autonomo in the country.
The video, uploaded over the weekend, came after it was announced that the government would be increasing the fees paid by autonomos from 2026 – which it has since backtracked on.
Dario said: ‘I’m leaving Spain, after almost eight years of being autonomo, this country is not a country that supports entrepreneurship and work; quite the opposite.
‘They make you lose your desire to work. And the new quotas, I mean, what’s the point? What incentive is there for people who want to work? I think Spain is a country that certainly doesn’t want entrepreneurship, or work, or many other things. It’s incredible.
‘And after much sadness, I abandoned my family, I abandoned my friends, I abandoned everything I had there to make a life for myself in another country.’
Dario said the grants and programmes offered to some self-employed workers were merely a ‘distraction’.
‘I didn’t even want computers, digital equipment, or the digital kit,’ he said.
‘All those things they invented to make it seem like they were helping us. For me, it’s very simple: They were hitting us in the leg, giving us a crutch, and telling us that’s how they were helping us.
‘So, my advice is, if you’re self-employed or thinking about becoming self-employed, leave Spain now.’
He added sarcastically: ‘Maybe you agree with me, maybe not, but don’t worry, in the end, the taxes will be paid by the rich, Spain is moving like a locomotive, and we don’t have to worry about anything.’
