Javier Vinuesa and Javier Gazulla warn of fiscal uncertainty facing high-net-worth individuals in 2026 | El Confidencial

Partners at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo warn that regulatory uncertainty and revenue pressure may lead to increases in wealth, inheritance, and gift taxes, accelerating the restructuring of ultra-high-net-worth estates.

Spanish high-net-worth individuals are already taking steps to optimise their assets in anticipation of potential tax changes in 2026. Javier Vinuesa and Javier Gazulla, partners at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, explain that “in recent years, a scenario of regulatory uncertainty in tax matters has consolidated, affecting the tax planning of companies and their investors.”

Parliamentary fragmentation and announcements regarding potential tax amendments have heightened concern among high-net-worth individuals, who seek to anticipate possible increases in wealth, inheritance, and gift taxes, as well as changes to SOCIMIs.

For the Government, it is not easy to advance measures in Congress, given its parliamentary fragility and a series of significant setbacks. “Historically, periods of intensive reforms — consider the early years of the last financial crisis — led to continuous adjustments in key taxes, so that taxpayers assumed the parliamentary approval of government-submitted draft bills was little more than a formality. However, the current fragmentation of the legislative chambers has substantially altered that expectation,” Vinuesa and Gazulla note.

The combination of regulatory uncertainty and potential legislative changes keeps high-net-worth individuals on alert, reinforcing the need for strategic tax planning to protect their assets in an increasingly unpredictable environment.

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