The El Rubius company earned 2,082,950.50 euros during 2019. An amount for which it ended up paying 1,071,186.93 euros in taxes. In total, his taxes amount to 51.43% of the income he generated through his professional activity as a content creator and he had 867,000 euros clean. This is revealed by the detailed accounting of the YouTuber to which PIXEL has obtained exclusive access, answering the historical question of how much El Rubius charges, how much taxes he pays and how much the most popular Spanish-speaking YouTuber’s company earns. El Rubius’ company (Snofokk SL) entered 2,082,950 euros for his job as a YouTuber. Of that money, he paid 376,788.07 euros in Corporation Tax and 1,562,212.5 euros (75% of sales) were paid to Rubén for being the professional partner of his company. Of those 1.56 million that he received from his own company, he paid 694,398.86 euros in personal income tax.
In total, for his work, El Rubius ended up depositing 867,813.64 euros in his bank account and paying a total of taxes that amounts to 1,071,186.93 euros, 51.43% of the original income that his company had during 2019. Information that comes within a deep controversy that arose after El Rubius announced his move to Andorra, a popular destination among YouTubers in which the tax burden is lower than Spain, causing a wave of critical reactions against the YouTuber in which even the Vice President of the Government, Pablo Iglesias, participated. How Ruben Doblas (El Rubius) organizes his business is complex. In addition to being the sole administrator of the company Snofokk SL -through which he manages his professional activity, for which he must pay Corporation Tax and for which he receives an amount as a professional partner- Rubius is also given Register as a self-employed person and must pay the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) for the invoices that he issues to his own company (Snofokk SL).
In this way, during 2019, El Rubius paid 376,788.07 euros in Corporation Tax and 694,398.86 euros in personal income tax as self-employed, as PIXEL has learned. In total, Rubius paid 1,071,186.93 euros. An amount higher than that of large audiovisual companies that operate in our country, such as Netflix, which with a turnover of 26.5 million euros between its two Spanish subsidiaries, paid a total of 478,000 euros of Corporation Tax during the 2019 financial year. In addition to being the sole administrator of his company, El Rubius is also a professional partner of Snofokk SL. As a professional partner of his own company, of the € 2,082,950.50 of income that Snofokk SL obtained, the YouTuber received remuneration from his only limited company of 1,562,212.5 euros. An amount that, within the accounting field with the commercial register, is included under the heading of “other operating expenses” which, according to PIXEL published, amounts to a total of 1,702,516.59 euros.
However, as indicated in a statement sent to PIXEL by the general manager and attorney of Snofokk SL, Hector Turiel, “the company paid 75% of sales to Mr. Rubén Doblas Gundersen in his capacity as partner-professional (although the rule only requires 75% of profits before taxes). In this sense, Law 27/2014 establishes in its article 18.6.B “that the amount of the remuneration corresponding to all the professional partners for the provision of services to the entity is not less than 75% of the result before the deduction of the remuneration corresponding to all the professional partners for the provision of their services . The fact of paying 75% of sales (instead of 75% of taxes before profits) implies an accounting disadvantage (they end up paying more taxes) for the professional partners of a company (in this case El Rubius However, it is also a formula used by some companies to cure their health in the face of possible tax inspections.
COMMUNICATION FROM SNOFOKK SL ON THE TAXES OF EL RUBIUS
In light of the controversy generated by the taxation of El Rubius, Hector Turiel, SNOFOKK SL’s attorney, has sent the following statement to PIXEL with his version of the facts:
Concerning all the inaccuracies that appeared in some media about what was perceived by Mr. Rubén Doblas Gundersen in 2019 through SNOFOKK, SL (the company that manages his professional activity and therefore all his income derived from it) we won’t state that the company’s turnover in said fiscal year was € 2,082,950.50. Under the provisions of article 18.6.b of Law 27/2014 on Corporation Tax, the company paid 75% of sales to Mr. Ruben Doblas Gundersen in his capacity as partner-professional (although the regulation only requires 75% of profits before taxes), which constitutes the majority of the amount of the company’s operating expenses (€ 1,702,516.59) since the aforementioned professional partner billed the company as self-employed, being that amount was subsequently declared by Mr. Ruben Doblas Gundersen in his income tax for the aforementioned fiscal year.
Therefore, and faithful to our policy of honesty and transparency, and strict compliance with current legislation, I will now report on the turnover generated by Mr. Rubén Doblas Gundersen and on all taxes paid for the performance of his professional activity concerning the fiscal year of 2019 and that reach 51.43% of the income: Income received from the professional activity: € 2,082,950.50 Corporation Tax: € 376,788.07 Personal income tax (state and regional tax on the general base): € 694,398.86 Taxes paid for professional activity: € 1,071,186.93
CONSTANT INSPECTION OF THE TREASURY AGAINST RUBIUS
Months before announcing his move to Andorra, El Rubius expressed his dissatisfaction with the treatment received by the Spanish Treasury since the beginning of his career during another of his live videos. The Treasury has had me in their sights since day one. They’ve always been trying to screw me, man. I’ve done well. I’ve done everything legal. Still, because I’m the only fool who has stayed in Spain, they screw me to me, he complained bitterly during a video published months before announcing his departure to the country of the Pyrenees. Unlike what happens with other types of State officials, the employees of the Tax Agency have productivity bonuses for meeting set collection targets. Surveillance that, according to the newspaper Expansión, was increased during the last months of last year to meet objectives.
Specifically, the “day one” that Rubius speaks of is June 5, 2013. The date on which Ruben Doblas Grundsen incorporated the company “El Rubius OMG SL” (which years later would change its name to Snofokk SL) with a share capital of 23,000 euros. The act of incorporation of the company was the starting signal for a bitter relationship between the treasury and the YouTuber, which has been subjected to different inspections with the Tax Agency in which the Spanish Treasury even asked third countries for information on if El Rubius was the owner of an account abroad.
“I’m doing everything. Following the laws that you have set yourself. Why do you treat me like a criminal? Why do you persecute me? In plan, they have been like this for years, uncle. And you feel helpless.”, reflected El Rubius in the video. Finally, El Rubius launched a conciliatory plea to the treasury, “I would love to be able to talk to someone and say: hey, why don’t we reach an agreement?” at the same time that he gave a glimpse of his possible departure “It touches my balls. If you are going to be like this with me, then maybe I’m going.” Half a year later, the YouTuber announced his departure to Andorra and, now, the enigma of how much El Rubius charges (867,813.64 euros clean) and how much taxes he pays in Spain (1,071,186.93 euros) has finally been solved.
