Amor (ATA) believes that the Government's proposal for the pension reform is an "axe"

MADRID, 13 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA), Lorenzo Amor, believes that the proposal on the pension reform presented last Friday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations is "an ax blow", since "it is not good for employment" and "will pave the way for the underground economy".

"There is nowhere to take it. It does not guarantee anywhere that pensions are sustainable, what's more, it seems that within three years there may be a turn of the screw," said Amor, in statements to the media, during the IV ATA Forum .

The president of ATA has assured that they are studying the draft but they only see "collection voracity" on the part of the State and a reform that will force the contributor to "pay more taxes and collect less pension."

Amor has insisted that employers are aware that pensions must be guaranteed, but they disagree that it must be done "pressing with social contributions."

In addition, the president of the self-employed has been particularly critical of the solidarity quota that the Government has raised as part of the reform to improve the system's income.

This fee will be applied to the part of the salary that is currently not listed due to exceeding the maximum contribution limit, which will be 1% in 2025 and will increase at a rate of 0.25 points per year until it reaches 6% in 2045 (5 % paid by the company and 1% paid by the worker).

For Amor, it is "a tax disguised as a solidarity fee" and he has questioned whether "those who contribute 4,495 euros and perhaps 3,000 euros will come to their account" are considered "rich." "It is the height of nonsense," has insisted

In addition to the pension table, the employers also have pending negotiations for the Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC), although these will be bipartite with the unions, on March 22. "We are going with the best of provisions," Amor has commented.

The president of ATA has indicated that they agree with the unions that "salaries must be raised", but recalled that "the situation of the self-employed and SMEs is critical".

During his speech at the opening of these days, Amor has indicated that this 2023 will be marked by the political context, with regional and municipal elections in May, and other general ones.

The president of ATA has warned that this could be an "additional risk for economic recovery" and has stressed the need to maintain "legal certainty" and "respect for companies, businessmen and the self-employed".

"These are the solution and not the problem, despite the fact that we have resorted to different campaigns against them," added Amor.

The president of ATA has asked the Government to "strengthen its commitment to the self-employed" and "do not put more obstacles or stones in the way". He has also urged the Executive to ease the tax burden on the self-employed and facilitate their access to European funds to improve their competitiveness and prevent the destruction of the Spanish business fabric.

Amor has warned of the bad data in the affiliation of the self-employed and forecasts a 2023 "loss of the self-employed".

"The data for the self-employed are an early indicator of what can happen with employment," he predicted in his speech.