MADRID, 2 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The self-employed organization ATA has warned this Thursday that 2023 has shown a "bad start" for the business fabric, with the loss of 17,300 self-employed workers and 10,000 companies in the first two months of the year.

"If we analyze the data in the last three months, we would be talking about a loss of 18,000 companies and 18,300 self-employed workers," denounced the president of ATA, Lorenzo Amor, in a statement.

Although Social Security gained 3,448 self-employed workers in February compared to the previous month, Amor has warned that the situation of the business fabric is "very complicated", since cost increases "are weighing down business activity and damaging many companies and autonomous".

"We ask the Government, given this increase in energy, production, financial, mortgage, labor and tax costs, to help the business fabric and not put stones in the way," said Amor, who has urged the Executive to "relieve" the tax burden on the self-employed.

"We are not talking about reducing taxes, we are talking about reducing the withholdings that are being charged to the self-employed, the 15% withholding on the gross invoice, or on payments on account in Corporate Tax", said the president of ATA, which has warned that if the Government does not help the self-employed fiscally to give them liquidity, "the destruction of the self-employed and the business fabric will continue in the coming months."