A British influencer has blasted Spain’s tax system and accused the country of ‘hating small businesses and freelancers.’

Tom Hopcroft, owner of the Guiri de Mierda brand and a popular content creator online, made the comments in a new video this week.

The Madrid-based Brit was explaining to his followers how the European Commission has referred Spain to the EU’s Court of Justice for failing to implement two key directives related to VAT rules.

One of the directives would allow small businesses and self-employed workers to benefit from a VAT exemption when operating in other EU countries.

It also gives member states the option to introduce a domestic threshold – up to €85,000 in annual turnover – below which businesses would not need to charge VAT.

‘This makes so much sense to me,’ said Hopcroft in his video, ‘…but in Spain, apparently not.’

He said that every other EU country had adopted the measures apart from Spain, ‘because f*** freelancers I guess.’

He added: ‘One thing can be certain, even if they do lose, there can be no justice for people like you and me, the small businesses, the freelancers of Spain, because the system here is out to f*** you with every opportunity they get.’

What happens now?

Spain has made clear it does not intend to apply the VAT exemption domestically, as it is optional

However, the European Commission insists that Spain must still implement the rules that allow Spanish SMEs to access VAT exemptions in other EU countries.

‘This is necessary because, for a Spanish SME to benefit from the exemption elsewhere in the EU, it must first register with Spanish authorities,’ the Commission explained.

The second directive introduces mandatory rules on how VAT is applied to certain services – particularly those delivered digitally or online – as well as special VAT regimes for second-hand goods, artworks, antiques and collectors’ items.

Brussels warns that Spain’s failure to adopt these rules creates a risk of double taxation – or even no taxation – because all other EU countries are already applying the updated framework.

Government response

Following the Commission’s decision, Spain’s Ministry of Finance said the transposition of the VAT directives is already underway in parliament.

According to ministry sources, the changes have been included in an amendment to a separate law – linked to the EU’s DAC8 directive – which is currently being processed in Congress.

However, the legislative process has seen little progress in recent months.

Backlash from self-employed workers

The decision has been welcomed by Spain’s main association for self-employed workers, ATA, which had already filed a complaint with the European Commission in December over the issue.

ATA president Lorenzo Amor said Spanish autonomos are being unfairly disadvantaged compared to their European counterparts.

‘Spanish self-employed workers are the only ones in the EU who cannot benefit from a VAT exemption if they earn less than €85,000,’ he said.

He added that the lack of clear rules and appropriate systems has created ongoing legal uncertainty.

‘These are obstacles and more obstacles,’ Amor said, accusing the government of being slow to implement measures that would benefit small businesses.

According to ATA, introducing the VAT exemption could save self-employed workers up to €600 per year in administrative and compliance costs.

No obligation to adopt VAT exemption

Despite the legal action, Spain is not required to introduce the VAT exemption domestically, as this remains optional under EU law.

However, it is still legally obliged to implement the broader framework set out in the directives – a requirement the European Commission now wants enforced through the EU’s highest court, along with potential financial sanctions.