{"id":16776,"date":"2025-03-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.11onze.cat\/?p=16776"},"modified":"2025-03-03T09:36:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T08:36:17","slug":"spanish-government-seize-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.11onze.cat\/en\/magazine\/spanish-government-seize-savings\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Spanish government seize my savings?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The new draft National Security Law opens up the possibility that the Spanish government can seize citizens’ money and assets in the event of an economic crisis, but can this and other state laws condition savings in European accounts? We are speaking to Aina Ans\u00f3, from 11Onze\u2019s legal department.<\/b><\/h3>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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One of the distinguishing features of <\/span>El Canut<\/span><\/a> is the possibility of opening and managing accounts with a European IBAN, not just Spanish. This function gives people control over their savings and<\/span> offers a wide range of possibilities that can favour the day-to-day management of bank accounts<\/b>, but also the security and liquidity of savings. Aina Ans\u00f3, from the legal department of 11Onze, gives us the keys to understanding how having bank accounts in European countries affects us.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our savings, out of Spain\u2019s reach?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The first question to be answered is whether having an account abroad means that it is out of Spain’s reach. Ans\u00f3 explains that, effectively, “<\/span>it does mean that it is outside the reach of the State in the tax sphere<\/b>, as long as the amount of this account does not exceed 50,000 euros”. Above this figure, it will be necessary to account for the taxation of money located outside Spain.<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>In this case, the Tax Agency must be informed<\/b> by filing form 720. Likewise, if foreign transactions exceed one million euros, the Bank of Spain must also be informed by means of the Foreign Transactions Survey. This applies to both individuals and entities resident in Spain,” explains Ans\u00f3. In order to manage our assets properly and dispel any doubts, she also recommends seeking advice. In any case, whether the 50,000 euros are exceeded or not, citizens will continue to file their tax returns to the country where they are fiscally resident.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In search of European protection<\/b><\/h3>\n

The debate about the protection of our savings is complex, and the key to this issue lies in who has the power. In this sense, Spanish citizens are increasingly concerned about the draft bill approved by the Council of Ministers on 22 June, which reforms Law 36\/2015 of September 28 about National Security.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The initial objective, as it had to be done since 2016, was to specify what resources the Spanish government can use in a situation of national security interest. In other words, what specific<\/span> intervention the state can carry out in the event of a crisis<\/b>, be understood as a situation that compromises the country’s security”. An intervention that, as Ans\u00f3 points out, cannot yet be firmly established: “In order to know whether a European account can finally be seized, we will have to wait for the definitive text, although, given all precedents, the final wording could be so ambiguous that we will not be able to know its real scope”.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in statements to 11Onze, the lawyer Arcadi Sala-Planell dares to predict that “<\/span>this law would not apply if the client has the money in a foreign bank<\/b>, because Spain has no powers outside its territory, and this is a state law. Therefore, to intervene the central bank [of another country] it would have to be a European law”. “It would be a scandal,” he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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