ATA reports high bureaucratic costs for Spanish self-employed

The Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA) reports that administrative bureaucracy is imposing a significant economic and temporal burden on self-employed professionals in Spain. According to the organization, an individual self-employed worker spends an average of 226 hours per year on administrative tasks, tax obligations, and social security compliance.

Based on an estimated average cost of 15 euros per hour, this translates to an annual loss of 3,390 euros per worker. For the more than 3.4 million self-employed individuals in Spain, the aggregate economic impact is estimated at approximately 11,000 million euros per year.

ATA Asturias president Patricia Oreña noted that the burden has increased recently due to regulatory uncertainty, including new EU artificial intelligence regulations and changes to the 'Verifactu' invoicing system. The association warns that these requirements divert time away from business development and work-life balance, equating the total time lost to the weekly workload of roughly 317,000 professionals.