Spain's IVA income is third-lowest in EU

Although IVA income has gone up from its historic low of 3.9% in 2009, one of the worst years of the financial crisis, it is still well below the EU average and has dropped from the 6.5% of the GDP recorded in 2015.

At 6.4%, Spain's earnings from value-added tax are greater than Italy's 6.1% and Ireland's 4.7%, but are lower than any other EU member State.

In 2016, the European Union average was 7% of the GDP across the 28 countries, although slightly lower in the Eurozone, at 6.8%.

But IVA earned by the State varies considerably by country across Europe, with some nations amassing over 10%.

Croatia tops the list, earning 13% of its GDP in IVA, and Denmark is second at 9.6%, whilst Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Bulgaria show figures in region of 9% and Portugal, Cyprus and Slovenia earn above 8%.

Germany is exactly on the 7% average, behind Austria's 7.7%.

A total of 10 countries, including Spain, Italy and Ireland, are below the 7% average – The Netherlands and France (6.9%); Belgium and the UK (6.8%); Slovakia (6.7%); and Luxembourg and Romania (6.5%).

Fiscal pressure – defined as the complete system of taxes and social contributions in relation to the GDP of a country – sat at 34.1% in Spain in 2016, having fallen from 34.5% in 2015, and below the Eurozone average of 41.3% and the EU-28 average of 40%.

Spain is the ninth country in the Eurozone with the lowest fiscal pressure, behind Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Romania in that order.

EU countries with the greatest fiscal pressure in 2016 were Belgium, Denmark, France and Austria.

For the EEA, Switzerland also joins the latter list.

The largest element of Spain's fiscal pressure last year was in social contributions – national insurance, or Social Security – which came to 12.2% of the GDP, although below the 15.3% average in the Eurozone and the 13.3% EU average.

Taxes on production and imports accounted for 11.8% of Spain's GDP, below the Eurozone average of 13.2% and the EU average of 13.6%.

State earnings from income tax in Spain reached 9.9% of the GDP in 2016, below the Eurozone's average of 12.6% and the EU average of 13%.

Of this, 7.3% related to personal income and asset tax and 2.3% to company profits.