The transfer of the Ferrovial headquarters to the Netherlands is further muddying the already muddy relationship between the Government and businessmen. The last to react to the Executive’s attacks against the company’s decision have been the construction companies themselves. Specifically, the employers’ association in which Ferrovial, Seopan is integrated. The organization has launched a harsh and forceful statement today with a message as clear as it is direct: If they detect any type of discrimination on the part of the Executive towards the company chaired by Rafael del Pino for moving to the Netherlands, they will take the measures they deem appropriate.
In the statement, Seopan records its willingness to exercise “as many actions as may correspond to it in the face of any measure that, in violation of current legislation, may constitute a unequal or discriminatory treatment of the company in the exercise of its business activity in Spain”.
Seopan defends in its note, as the company has done, that the decision adopted by the Board of Directors of Ferrovial, “in the legitimate exercise of its right and in strict compliance with Spanish and Community law”, It will not affect your activity in Spain, which will continue to be a preferred country. In this sense, Seopan adds that the corporate reorganization is designed “so that employment, activity and investments remain intact in Spain and without relevant fiscal impact, maintaining the current figures represented by sales of 1,443 million euros (18% of the total ) a gross operating profit of 147 million euros, employment of 5,413 workers and a tax contribution of 282 million euros.
The employers also ensure that the assumption that Ferrovial transfers its headquarters outside of Spain for tax reasons is not correct. “The Netherlands is not a tax haven, as has been erroneously claimed, but rather its taxation is very similar to the
Spanishbeing irrelevant, if not non-existent, the possible favorable effect on the payment of taxes”, he assures. The reorganization, as Ferrovial has also assured, responds according to Seopan to the growing internationalization of the company, which has the largest volume of its activity abroad. Replicating the company’s data, Seopan ensures that, in 2022, 82% of Ferrovial’s revenues and close to 96% of its value come from its international activity, while more than 90% of institutional investors are international entities.
Ferrovial, adds Seopan in line with what was argued by the company to justify its transfer, has “a strong development and growth potential for the coming years in the US and Canada, markets in which it has proven its competitive capacity. Both countries are at the forefront of the infrastructure market, with the company holding a very prominent position in the industry.” For this reason, he concludes, the company will be listed simultaneously in Spain and the Netherlands, with the expectation of being listed in the United States and keep a big
liquidity in Spain.