Members of the international campaign held a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday to announce the main measures they intend to take with the Tax Agency to protect those benefiting from the Beckham Law.
The tax peace that has been enjoyed for years by retirees, digital nomads, and foreigners residing in southern Gran Canaria and benefiting from tax regimes like the Beckham Law is beginning to shake. This is according to a renowned international law firm that has launched a public campaign accusing the Spanish tax authorities of pursuing them with methods more akin to a raid than an inspection.
Under the slogan “Spanish Tax Pickpockets” —a statement of intent without nuances—, the international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP has launched a public and institutional offensive against the Treasury. The reason? What they consider a "tax harassment campaign" by the Tax Agency (which he calls a pickpocket) against those who benefited from the tax regime known as the "Beckham Law", which for years attracted thousands of foreign workers to reside (and pay taxes) in Spain under preferential conditions and which today is one of the Main attractions for digital nomads who arrive in Gran Canaria.
The firm, led by Canadian lawyer Robert Amsterdam —famous for representing Russian oligarchs, Kremlin opponents, and high-profile figures in international cases—is not exactly new to moving pieces around on the media and political chessboard.
And the truth is that the campaign has not gone unnoticed: advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, columns in the Financial Times and a website dedicated to channeling complaints from those affected, SpanishTaxPickpockets, who does not mince words when it comes to describing the Treasury as a “tax-collecting instrument with a confiscatory mentality” and asserting that “time won't be the only thing you'll lose when moving to Spain,” referring to the country's tax burden.
The timing, it must be said, does not help to calm things down either. In addition to catching the Treasury in the middle of the tax return campaign, in recent weeks it has been embroiled in other controversies that have set off alarm bells, not only among the wealthiest and those covered by the Beckham Law, but also among "mortals." For example, the recent warning that transfers by Bizum that exceed certain amounts may incur sanctions if they are not duly justified or the other jewel: fines of up to 150.000 euros for withdrawing cash in amounts considered "suspicious" without being able to justify its use.
The Amsterdam & Partners law firm argues that this is all part of the same pattern: pressuring taxpayers under the pretext of combating fraud, while eroding legal certainty. And of course, in an area like southern Gran Canaria, where thousands of foreigners have established residence, attracted by the good weather, tranquility, and relatively stable tax conditions, the message resonates.
Robert Amsterdam, the mastermind of this offensive, is no stranger. He has been the lawyer for controversial figures such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oil magnate who clashed with Putin, and has participated in proceedings before international courts and bodies such as the International Criminal Court or the European ParliamentThat he's now turning his attention to Spain isn't anecdotal: his intention is to escalate the case to European and international levels if the Treasury doesn't back down.
