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COPAC has questioned whether the airline and its workers are meeting their tax obligations in Spain

Ryanair has described allegations made against the Irish airline by COPAC, the Official College of Commercial Aviation Pilots in Spain, as false, after they were denounced by the pilots to the Spanish Work Inspection Authority for ‘not paying or contributing’ in Spanish territory, despite operating fixed bases here.

In a statement Ryanair has responded saying that both it and its crew ‘are listed and pay taxes and social security as required by European legislation’, and clearly meet the E.U. norms regarding workers in air transport.

COPEC accepts that under community law ‘professionals who work between several EU countries can pay taxes in the country of origin of the company, in this case Ireland’, but they also note that under the law 35/2006 regarding income tax on individuals, ‘all people who remain in Spain for more than 183 days will be considered as a contributor, and will have to meet their tax obligations in Spain’.

COPEC has therefore called or an investigation into Ryanair, considering that there is a possible contradiction between E.U. and Spanish law.

Ryanair is sticking to the EU rule and has said that ‘all the workers on the planes of Ryanair are defined as workers in Irish territory’. They say that they work with Irish contracts, are paid in Ireland, and pay their income tax, social security and pensions contributions in Ireland.

Spokesman for the airline, Stephen McNamara, is reported by Europa Pres as saying that there is no truth in the COPAC claims.
 

Source: Typically Spanish