In a supermarket on a tourist avenue in Maspalomas, a German tourist chooses a box of Cadbury Chocolate Fingers biscuits. Next to her, a local couple puts Tirma ambrosia biscuits and a pair of strawberry Clippers in their basket. In the same store, for similar products, they are paying very different prices. Not because of marketing, or because of the brand. But because of the AIEM (Spanish Tax on the Income Tax): an invisible but omnipresent tax that determines what we eat, what we can import, and how much we pay for making different choices.
The AIEM (Tax on Imports and Deliveries of Goods) was designed to protect the Canary Islands' industry, and in Maspalomas, it shows... but in reverse. Here, in one of Spain's most visited tourist destinations, where more than 2,8 million tourists arrive each year, the variety of imported products is key for hotels, apartments, restaurants, and businesses. But the AIEM penalizes that variety.
Tirma Ambrosia: €0,35. Cadbury Cookies: €3,20. Why?
A Tirma ambrosia, made in Las Palmas, doesn't pay AIEM or DUA; it goes directly to the supermarket. Final price in Maspalomas: between €0,30 and €0,35.
A box of Cadbury Chocolate Fingers imported from the United Kingdom or the Peninsula, on the other hand, carries a 15% AIEM (Tax on Imports) on its customs value, plus a 7% IGIC (Tax on Imports), clearance costs, and inter-island transport. In stores in Playa del Inglés or San Fernando, they sell for between €2,90 and €3,50 per box. In some tourist minimarkets, they're even more expensive.
For a German or Nordic tourist, accustomed to seeing these products for €1,50 at the source, the blow is double: more expensive and less variety. For the local resident, it's a constant penalty for not buying what's made here.
Strawberry Clipper: Cheap for everyone, but what about kombucha?
Something similar happens with drinks. A can of Clipper strawberry—produced locally by Ahembo—costs €0,65-€0,75 in almost any shop in Maspalomas. It doesn't pay the AIEM (Mexican Immunity Tax). But if a hotel, gourmet supermarket, or cafe in Meloneras wants to offer a healthy refreshment like kombucha or organic soda, the 20% AIEM means each bottle comes with a surcharge that doubles its price compared to the Peninsula or Europe.
For this reason, many establishments choose not to carry these products. The result: visitors find fewer options, and local consumers, less freedom.
Direct impact on tourism and small businesses
In an economy as dependent on tourism as that of southern Gran Canaria, this tax system creates an island paradox. Maspalomas hotels, seeking to offer variety to international clients, must pay more to import brands of pastries, cereals, yogurts, and snacks that their guests are familiar with. Many choose not to bring them in.
Small businesses—minimarkets, souvenir shops, independent cafes—also suffer. Every product imported outside the AIEM's "protected catalog" must clear customs, with a DUA (customs declaration) that can cost 20 to 30 euros per batch, plus the corresponding AIEM. The result is a price distortion: they don't earn more by selling foreign products, but they do pay more.
Maspalomas pays, even if it doesn't know it
According to data from the Canary Islands Tax Agency, the AIEM (Spanish Tax Agency) collected more than €2023 million in 183. Much of the consumption affected by the tax occurs in areas such as Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés, where tourism demands variety and imports are key. But neither visitors nor retailers know they are financing a system that, while protecting factories in the north of Gran Canaria, unbalances supply in the south.
In a municipality like San Bartolomé de Tirajana, where almost everything comes from abroad—from yogurt to shampoo—the AIEM isn't noticeable on the receipt, but it is on the shelves. There are fewer brands, fewer options, and artificially inflated prices due to a regulation designed for a different reality.
What if I want to choose differently? I'll pay for that too.
The message is clear: if you buy ambrosia, everything is fine. But if you want to buy sugar-free cookies, organic drinks, European cereals, or any "foreign" product in Maspalomas, the system penalizes you.
A review of the AIEM with a territorial focus would be urgent. Because protecting the industry is good, but punishing the southern tourism sector, businesses, and international visitors for consuming what they know or need is a luxury Maspalomas should no longer have to pay.
