70% of commercial members who work on their own confirm that the new self-employed contribution system is affecting them negatively. This is clear from a study prepared by the Official College of Commercial Agents of Barcelona (COACB) which highlights the current state of the commercial profession.
The new contribution system, which came into force on January 1, 2023, is based on annual net income, obtained in the exercise of all economic, business or professional activities and in consecutive tranches with maximum and minimum contribution bases. monthly. And the Government's forecast is that the quota will increase each year.
Ricard Penas, President of the COACB comments “with this system, the majority of us are paying more without having a proportional improvement equivalent to benefits and social coverage; In addition, specific programs must be activated and designed to enhance the figure of the self-employed.”
For this reason, the COACB demands that the Generalitat reactivate the Consell de Treball Autònom de Catalunya. “This council was created in July 2019, and the council and all the members have expired since July 2023, and there are no plans to reactivate it. This is bad news since it could have a reading like leaving aside the self-employed; That is why we believe that this Council should be reactivated and include and give a voice to groups like ours, which brings together thousands of autonomous people (and in our case they are direct members),” Penas concludes.
The study also highlights how 96% of commercial agents have been negatively affected by the rise in prices and inflation in recent months. 48% of these claim to have lowered their commission margins, between 5 and 10%. The wars in Ukraine and Israel and Gaza have also been factors that have affected 84% of commercial agents in their sales.
Movility in the city
In relation to mobility and the commercial profession, 62% of commercial agents believe that the urban planning of the Barcelona City Council (superilles, bike lanes...) has harmed their sector. In this sense, 58% of commercial agents expect that the new council will improve mobility in Barcelona, while 42% believe that it will not improve.
86% of commercial agents in Barcelona believe that the Public Administration does not provide enough support to their sector, while 14% believe that it does. Among the most mentioned proposals to support the group are those related to aid and subsidies (59.6%) and the promotion of local commerce and other local initiatives (21.1%).
2024
The sales prospects for this year, 83.5% of sales agents in Barcelona have prospects equal to or better than 2023, while 16.5% have worse prospects than 2023.
The desire to continue promoting the digitalization of the commercial sector stands out. This is why 47% of commercial agents have a professional website and want to continue training in technological fields. It is also worth noting that, although it is doing so slowly, artificial intelligence (AI) has already entered the commercial sector and throughout 2023, 26% of commercial agents have used it in their work.
Commercial agent profile
83% of the commercial agents who participated in the study are between 40 and 65 years old; 78% have more than 20 years of experience in the commercial profession; 82% tend to visit fairs and professional fairs to establish new contacts and almost half (49%) work for an international company.
COACB is the public law corporation that brings together thousands of registered commercial agents, most of them self-employed. Its main functions are to protect and represent the profession and the interests of the members, adapt the profession to the needs of society and be present in the creation of regulations that affect the commercial agent and current trade.