Around 200 contemporary art galleries across Spain will close for a six-day strike from February 2 to 7. The action is a protest against the country's 21% value-added tax on art sales, which gallery owners argue cripples their competitiveness and sustainability.
The 21% VAT, the highest in Western Europe, places Spanish galleries at a severe disadvantage compared to neighbors like France (5.5%) and Italy (5%). Gallerists contend the tax treats them as mere commercial agents rather than essential cultural infrastructure, and its burden forces them to absorb costs, deters collectors, and threatens the survival of emerging artists and the galleries that support them. The strike is accompanied by a three-month halt to galleries' pro bono work for public and private institutions.