The Government of Spain has approved the creation and operating regulation of the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Registry, by means of Royal Decree 609/2023 of 11 July 2023, which was published today in the Official State Gazette. This registry is configured as a central and public registry, through which information on ultimate beneficial ownership of Spanish legal entities and other entities or structures without legal personality can be generally accessed.

On 22 November 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union, sitting as the Grand Chamber, rendered a landmark decision on the validity of the Luxembourg provisions of the law of 13 January 2019, establishing the register of beneficial owners and implementing the EU anti-money laundering directives. According to the CJEU, the provision, whereby the information on the beneficial ownership of companies incorporated within the territory of the member states is accessible in all cases to any member of the general public, is invalid.

Baker McKenzie’s EMEA Tax Practice Group presented an overview on “Wealth Management” on 7 July 2020, the fourth in a series of short webinars to keep tax professionals abreast of recent developments in these less than certain times.