Spanish tax opposition triples as youth revolt against Sánchez's fiscal policy

Just like Spain’s two World Cup wins - where pop icon Shakira provided the official tournament anthems - the Treasury’s latest public relations nightmare began with the Colombian singer.

Last May, the High Court ruled in favour of the pop star in her long-running dispute with the Tax Agency over her 2011 tax return. Beyond the legal debate surrounding the judgment, what stood out was the widespread celebration on social media, where the public cheered her victory against the taxman as if it were their own. (The singer had already settled and paid penalties for tax irregularities between 2012 and 2014 exposed by the authorities.)

The episode raised alarm bells at the Tax Agency, where such a public reaction in support of someone previously convicted of ongoing tax fraud was viewed with deep concern. However, it simply highlights an ongoing trend tracked annually by the Ministry of Finance through the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IEF): the steady erosion of tax morale among the Spanish public.

The latest opinion barometer, covering 2025 and recently published by the IEF, reveals a new high in the percentage of the population who believe life would be better without taxes. That figure now stands at 24% - a record high in a series tracking Spanish public opinion on the tax system over the last 30 years.

The breakdown by age is even more striking. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 35% believe life would be better without taxes, rising to 38% for those aged 25 to 39 - an age group fully integrated into the workforce and tax system.

"The reality is that people are net recipients of public resources until around age 18 or slightly older. Once studies end, that transfer drops to almost zero. When you start working and earning a monthly salary, you realise you are paying significant taxes without receiving equivalent services in return. Young people feel the system is stacked against them, and the hard truth is that they have a point," explains tax inspector Francisco de la Torre, author of ¿Hacienda somos todos? (Are We All the Treasury?).

This feeling of a generational tax divide - exacerbated in recent years by regulatory decisions such as linking all pensions to inflation (even the highest ones) and failing to adjust income tax brackets for inflation - has cast a shadow over public perception of tax utility. According to the latest IEF survey, 10% of citizens state that no public service justifies paying taxes, 20% feel no service matches the level of tax paid, and a quarter believe taxes fail to redistribute wealth. This decline impacts other metrics too: a third of the population now rationalises tax fraud, viewing it either as inherent to paying taxes or as a necessary measure to get by under a heavy tax burden.

Data from the Treasury survey highlights a curious paradox. Social support for a public Treasury collecting taxes to fund public services peaked in 2019, right after Pedro Sánchez took office as Prime Minister alongside a strong narrative advocating tax rises on high earners and corporations to fund the welfare state.

Since that year, coinciding with the implementation of these fiscal policies, public support for the utility of the Treasury has steadily declined - though it remains a clear majority at 79%. Meanwhile, the proportion of the population believing life would be better without taxes has tripled, jumping from 8% in 2019 to 24% in 2025.

"It is a recurring pattern, similar to what occurred after the global financial crisis," explains José María Mollinedo, spokesperson for the Gestha tax technicians' union. "Inflation has reduced household purchasing power, and citizens do not perceive public services as improving their situation, partly due to a general lack of awareness regarding the cost of these services. There is a lack of tax literacy," he notes.

Ignacio Basco, from the group Contribuyentes en Acción (Taxpayers in Action), views the situation differently. "Taxes represent a social contract where citizens pay in exchange for services. When taxation becomes an end in itself and continues to rise, draining household resources, discontent inevitably emerges," he says. "In recent years, income tax revenue has risen by 80% while family incomes have barely grown by 4%, driving down tax morale."

The decline in tax morale among younger generations is causing serious concern. In early June, the Institute for Fiscal Studies held a conference in Seville titled Tax Morale and Youth: Evidence and Proposals for a 21st-Century Tax Culture to examine the trend and identify ways to address it.

One panel examined how social media channels influence perceptions. "There are several young influencers talking about economics - many living in Andorra - who present oversimplified arguments and demonise paying taxes," says the Gestha spokesperson.

"There is a clear generational gap in tax contributions and public spending distribution, featuring visible inequalities," argues Francisco de la Torre. "Young people see that they pay more for public transport than older generations, struggle with rent while landlords receive tax breaks, and see little action on key issues like housing. Their discontent is rooted in structural factors, not just because a YouTuber influenced them."

There also appears to be resistance to the direction set by political leaders. While the government has focused its youth housing policy on promoting rental accommodation, the housing section of this year's opinion barometer shows that young people are the most opposed to prioritizing renting over home ownership.