Serge Makhoul

PESTEL SPAIN Political Microenvironment: Spain is a federal representative republic. That is a constitutional monarchy as well. The Head of State is the hereditary king, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Spain is divided into 17 autonomous regions known as "Comunidades Autónomas" in Spanish. It belongs to a number of important international organizations, including the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Eurozone, the Council of Europe (CoE), NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) (WTO). Spain is a key player in the EU and beyond, especially in international security matters. However, the country's civil unrest has harmed its international reputation. For a long time, Catalonia, a semi-autonomous territory, has campaigned for independence. This has thrown Spain into its most serious diplomatic turmoil in 40 years (BBC, 2019). The independence bid, daily pro- and anti-independence rallies, violent protests, and the imprisonment of some Catalan leaders and activists have all exacerbated the situation. Spain and the United Kingdom have a border dispute over Gibraltar. Disagreements between political parties, as well as several general elections in a short period of time, do not bode well for the region. A political recovery in Spain is urgently needed. Economic Microenvironment: Spain has the world's 13th biggest economy. For the year 2018, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $1426.19 billion, accounting for 2.30 percent of the global economy (Trading Economics, 2019). Over the last five years, the economy has been booming. In 2018, it grew by 2.5 percent. It's worth recalling that Spain is one of the eurozone's largest contributors (Romei, 2019). Poverty is widespread, and many occupations are precarious, resulting in ongoing uncertainty. Exports, on the other hand, have increased, as has domestic market demand. Tourism, shipping, irrigation, oil, and electricity are the major sectors that contribute significantly to Spain's GDP. Spain exports primarily to France, Germany, and Italy, while importing household products, equipment, pesticides, and other goods primarily from Germany, France, and China (World Atlas, 2019). In Spain, the general corporate income tax rate is 25%; but, depending on the form of business, different tax rates can apply. Socio-cultural macro-environment: Population: 46,767,300. (worldometers.info 02/22/2021), equivalent to 0.6% of the total world population. Age: the graph representing the division into 3 age groups in Spain is presented below (Statista, 2020). The average age is 43.9 years. In terms of population size, the sex ratio in the Spain is in favor of women, although the gender still remains. In 2020, there were 934,731 more women, with the difference predicted to reduce in the coming years (Statista, 2021) Gender with respect to age in Spain in 2019 (Populationpyramid): The population percentages based on defined levels of basic household income are presented below. The average value in Spain is around € 20140. The map divided by regions with respect to household income is also presented below: Employment: the number of workers in the Spain has been decreasing in 2020, however it is recovering after the pandemic, but not yet at the levels of 2019. To date, it is about 19 million people (Statista, 2021). Technological Macroenvironment: When it comes to technology, Spain is an advanced country. It is one of the first EU countries to use all national id cards in electronic format. Businesses in Spain have been at the cutting edge of technical advancement and creativity. Their contributions to air and ground traffic management, renewable energy, civil engineering and infrastructure, and mobile communications are well-known worldwide (MIT Technology Review, 2019). The extensive use of social media by Spaniards is well-known. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and Tenuti are the most popular social media platforms in Spain. It is worth noting, though, that the nation needs more IT personnel. ICT experts are among the country's most in-demand occupations. Within the European continent, the Spanish government participation in the sector is limited. Environmental macroenvironment: Spain is one of the world's most popular vacation destinations. In fact, tourism is one of Spain's most important sectors, accounting for about 11% of the country's GDP. Issues such as deforestation, air pollution, water pollution, and desertification, on the other hand, have become some of the country's biggest concerns. Similarly, an overemphasis on tourism has been criticized for excessive levels of pollution from airlines and cruise ships, as well as the mismanagement of natural resources and the depletion of green spaces. Hence, environmental issues are a major concern in Spain, as they are in other European countries. This ensures that all corporations and people are subject to different laws including the amount of waste they generate, the services they use, and even the way their garbage is sorted. Spain gets more than 70% of its energy from fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources, on the other hand, are becoming more common. Nuclear energy reportedly accounts for 12% of Spain's energy, making it the country's main clean energy source. This means that, in contrast to many Scandinavian countries, Spain has been reluctant to embrace renewables, but it is mindful of the need to do so. Legislative macro-environment: The legal system in Spain is based on a civil structure code. This allows the public and private sectors to be separated. Municipalities, municipalities, regions, and autonomous communities make up Spain's "territorial" division. In their daily lives, more than half of Spaniards have been vulnerable to corruption. The Spanish judicial system is separate from the executive branch; prosecution and police proceedings are conducted exclusively by judges. It is important to be mindful of government corruption involving legislators and corporations. The Spanish penal code was revised in 2010 to allow companies to be prosecuted for their acts. Since international investors seek to spur economic growth, Spanish business law is friendly to them. Spain's economic rules and legislation have been modernized as a result of the country's admission into the EU in 1986. It's worth noting that the Catholic Church has a significant impact on the Spanish people. However, anti-clerical and rather secular uprisings in the early twentieth century provided further separation between the church and the state. Since the relationship between law and the church may be more divided than in other countries, an expatriate may face ethical conflicts. Spain is just like any other European nation, it has rules in effect for the modern age, including stringent copyright and data protection regulations. Spain is a heavily bureaucratic place, which means that there are a lot of legal hoops to jump through when investing or starting a company there. When it comes to e-commerce, operations are currently controlled in Spain, as they are in neighboring countries. Distance pricing, ads, basic contract terms, electronic signatures, data security, intellectual and industrial property, and e-commerce and information society services, among other laws, can all be considered in e-commerce transactions. Apart from these particular rules, it is also important to review the general regulations on civil and industrial contracts, as well as the specific policy on consumer safety in the case of e-commerce addressed to customers (B2C). E-commerce poses tax questions that are difficult to resolve from a strictly Spanish standpoint. As a result, the Spanish tax authorities have decided to wait before a regional and even global agreement is reached on the steps to be implemented. The process of finding a consensus on the VAT handling of "on-line e-commerce" has advanced well. In terms of direct taxes, any arrangement is likely to take the form of a coordinated, uniform understanding of the different parameters that decide how e-commerce is taxed. The modifications to the OECD Model Convention commentaries are a clear example of this.