The Union of Professional and Self-Employed Workers (Unión de Profesionales y Trabajadores Autónomos – UPTA) has called on the Spanish government to put an end to the “unfair competition” that small businesses face from what it calls the “underground economy” of general goods marketplaces like Wallapop and Adevinta’s Milanuncios.
Noting that small businesses were closing in Spain at a rate of 900 per month, the UPTA claimed in a statement that, “These sales platforms between individuals are not only a showcase where you can display used products, you can also find all kinds of new products.” It alleged that they “do not respect the basic principles of Spanish tax and commercial legislation. Moreover, in some cases, they are housed in tax havens, so that all the economic traffic generated is not taxed in our country.”
The UPTA added, “The self-employed are tired of being the victims of this supposed digitization. The investment funds that own these platforms are voracious companies that do not add value to the economy in general.” It concluded: “The Ministries of Industry and Economy must act urgently on this matter, otherwise the destruction of the commercial fabric of Spain will be unstoppable.”
According to UPTA president Eduardo Abad, “It is inconceivable that we let small Spanish businesses die by not putting in place the necessary control mechanisms for this type of absolutely unfair competition. The only thing that is being generated by these platforms is an uncontrolled black market, which benefits no one. They are not circular economy platforms – they are a source of tax fraud.”