Inheriting a family business requires a planning combining civil, commercial and tax mechanisms. This was one of the main conclusions drawn at a session on family business succession held at the International University of Catalonia, organized by the Department of Family Business, Bosch Aymerich, at UIC Barcelona; the Catalonian Association of Family Business (ASCEF, acronym in Spanish), and the Catalonian Association of Inheritance Right Experts (ACEDS, acronym in Spanish).

Several experts on succession matters discussed the main challenges faced by family business, which, in Catalonia, represent 88.3% of all private companies, contribute 69% of value added tax (VAT) and create 76% of the private sector employment.

According to ASCEF President, Amadeu Jori, “the importance of a well-planned succession, the tax aspects derived from takeovers, the corporate governance bodies, and the importance of legal security are vital points affecting the family business survival”.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Family Business Department, Bosch Aymerich, Jordi Juan, highlighted the importance of combining different tools when planning a family business succession: “It is necessary to integrate the commercial, civil and tax visions to be able to respond to the problems involved in the family business takeover”. De Juan also referred to the issue of tax litigation in family businesses.

The session also featured the intervention of Josep María Cervera, professor at Barcelona University; ACEDS President, Ramón Pratdesaba; Crowe’s partner, Ramón Santos; Ebrat Advocate’s founder, Alejandro Ebrat, and Emma Sánchez Corretger, CIM Tax & Legal partner and ACEDS Tax Counsel Coordinator.