In Catalonia, almost 40% of the self-employed will have an increase in the minimum quota in 2026 that can exceed s 1,620 per year ( (13 135 per month).

Ricard Penas, president of the COACB, denounces that this increase can cause “the productive fabric of the self-employed is subjected to a system of constant and unsustainable increases that will end up causing the extinction of the collective” 

Barcelona, April 15, 2026. The Official College of Commercial Agents of Barcelona (COACB) calls on the Generalitat to defend its own tax management system for the self-employed before the last increase in the minimum quota of freelancers announced recently by the central government. 

In Catalonia, more than 60% of trade is made up of self-employed professionals and collaborators. Thus, according to the Observatori de Treball de la Generalitat, there are 574,506 self-employed professionals, of which almost 40% (219,660 professionals) can see their share increased to 1,620€ per year (135€ per month), which will be reflected in the regularization of 2027. 

The president of the COACB, Ricard Penas, denounces that “until the last announcement, the vast majority of the self-employed had the minimum quota frozen in the context of global crisis in recent years. Now, although the situation of global economic uncertainty is even worse, instead of reducing the quota or keeping it frozen, the Administration decides to increase it, causing the productive fabric of the self-employed to be subjected to a system of constant and unsustainable increases that will end up causing the extinction of the collective”.

In this sense, the COACB warns that more than 90% of its members are self-employed and the repeated increases in quotas made in recent years endanger the figure of the commercial agent. 

“From the COACB we demand an economic policy with a social vision and with the promotion of the economy and, therefore, of support for the self-employed. The collective cannot live in a situation of uncertainty before fiscal policies that discourage their figure, but the opposite. The self-employed are the ones who drive the first layer of the economy and this increase in the quota, together with the increase in costs and fiscal and regulatory uncertainty, put their activity at risk”, says Penas. 

The COACB, which this year celebrates its centenary, reaffirms its commitment to the defense of self-employed professionals and calls on the administrations to act responsibly, listening to the sector and adopting measures that contribute to guaranteeing its sustainability and future.