The Madrid regional government is about to break the interventionist status quo that has unfolded on the two main fronts of Spain's business activity: eliminating pre-opening permits and giving absolute freedom to business to open and schedule however they want on Sundays and festivals.
The spirit of the law, which in all likelihood will be approved today in the Consejo de Gobierno presided over by Esperanza Aguirre, has developed into a more progressive reform than what was initially planned considering that some predicted limitations have ended up lacking in an economic sense.
The first measure refers to how businesses get established. Entrepreneurs will no longer have to wait for the Madrid government to approve and grant some licenses.
It will now be sufficient to show the municipal government a 'statement of good faith' based on the credibility of the business owner that includes a technical description of the business idea that is in line with building and tax codes. So owners can open their businesses in this way without having to wait on building permits or licenses that usually cause months' worth of delays and in some cases years. The new system will govern small and large businesses.
