Canary Islands.- Renewable energies and digitization are currently two of the fundamental pillars in the economic policy strategy, as reflected in the presentation of the ‘Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the Spanish Economy’, inspired by the Agenda for Change, in the 2030 Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A Plan conceived to unleash the development of a “second great modernization” of the economy and that places the ecological transition and digitization among the lines for growth. There are many activities for which, in both fields, the Archipelago has the added value of a unique tax system: the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC).
An incentive, which includes the Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF) of the Canary Islands, conceived to attract international companies that bet on two of the strategic axes to configure a robust and future-oriented economy in the Islands.
In this sense, this fiscal tool is a stimulus within the framework of the Member States so that business investments feel seduced by the Canary Islands and develop their activities from there, provided that they fit into a business profile designed to diversify their Gross Domestic Product (GDP ). In general terms, the ZEC is the tool for diversification and this opens the way to the in situ creation of ecosystems at the forefront of business, allowing the incentive to become an effective economic policy instrument for the implementation of new business models in the Canary Islands in this case in the framework of the green economy and digital transformation, which can benefit from the special tax of 4% in the Corporation Tax that is applied in the ZEC.
On the other hand, as has been detailed, the Plan guides the execution of nearly 72,000 million euros between 2021 and 2023 and precisely meets the priorities of the European recovery funds: “green” investment represents more than 37% of the total of the Plan and digitization about 33%. Two crucial lines of work in the response to restore well-being and create a solid economy.