There's no guarantee that Kylian Mbappé will benefit from the new tax reduction approved on November 14 by the autonomous region of Madrid. That hasn't stopped Spanish media from dubbing it the "Mbappé Law," after the French footballer recruited this season by Real Madrid. It's a way of signifying that this tax gift is above all aimed at wealthy foreign nationals establishing their tax residence in the Madrid autonomous region.

This new text allows them to deduct from their taxes the equivalent of 20% of investments made in companies or financial products in Spain – provided that they maintain this investment and their residence for six years. In the same package, the region has approved seven other tax reductions and deductions, particularly in connection with the purchase or rental of real estate.

Since Isabel Diaz Ayuso, a figure from the neoliberal wing of the Spanish right, became president of the region's government in 2019, Madrid has approved 21 tax cuts, "saving Madrid citizens €31.3 billion," boasted the regional government. "We have the most attractive tax system in Spain," claimed Ayuso, on November 18, at the inauguration of a forum dedicated to international investment. This investment has jumped by 12% in five years in this region, while falling by 3%, over the same period, in Spain as a whole.

Do the policies pursued by Ayuso in this ultraliberal laboratory, governed for 30 years by the right wing of the People's Party (PP), explain the economic success of a business-friendly Madrid? Or is it simply a reflection of the dynamism of Spain, governed by the socialist Pedro Sanchez since 2018? In 2024, the country should reach 3% growth, according to latest estimates published on November 15 by the European Commission. That's more than three times that of the eurozone (0.8%).

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