[aragot]

In Spain, if you want to have a side business, you need to register as a sole trader. That also means... guess what... you have to pay for the common sole trader's health insurance, 200€/month. Even if your income from the side project is below 200€. Even if you have no other job and you don't make 200€/month.

With one single rule, they've killed most chances of growing businesses locally.

[jng]

I am so fed up with spaniards complaining about this (I'm a spaniard myself). Let me rephrase the rule: if you pay 250 EUR / month, you get full health coverage in the public system, which is amazingly good. How does this sound to americans now?

There are only a couple considerations here: first, they do force you to pay this in any case or you can't do business at all. The rationale is that having health insurance / social security is not optional in Spain. Thus the illegality of doing business / working without paying that. I would leave this untouched.

The other consideration is that you have to pay this even if you have a salaried job and your employer is already collecting from your salary and doing the contributions for you. I would make it unnecessary to pay the extra 250 EUR/month in this case, it doesn't make sense, except for people with very low salary (for whom no social contribution is mandated for their employer), in which case I would keep the need of contributing separately, or it's a huge loophole to avoid contributing.

A socially-oriented state has some cost, you know. Having to pay 250 EUR/month when you do business is such a ridiculously low price to pay for near-universal health care.

[aragot]

> The other consideration is that you have to pay this even if you have a salaried job

That's the part I meant was unfair. To the rest I agree: When you earn money, you have to paid fees to get your health security, I agree it's normal.