PROPERTY SEARCH
PROPERTY SEARCH
Anti-war campaigners explain how to redirect your Spanish tax money away from military spending
A growing movement is urging taxpayers to make a symbolic stand against defence budgets by diverting part of their income tax
A campaign group in Spain is encouraging people to refuse to contribute to military spending through their income tax returns in 2026, with organisers describing it as a form of “active disobedience” against war funding.
Promoted by the Insumissia platform, the initiative is gaining momentum across the country. It centres on what Insumissia calls “tax objection to military spending”, defined as the “unwillingness to collaborate with the State in the expenses of preparing for wars and maintaining the military structure, actively disobeying when filing income tax returns.”
More than 500 people took part in the campaign in 2025, according to organisers, “diverting a total of €45,029 to the financing of at least 130 projects that help build a more just and peaceful society.”
Set against what organisers describe as an increasingly “bellicose” global climate, given the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, the campaign is being relaunched this year as a symbolic rejection of violence and military escalation.
Social groups involved say it is intended to “become another symbol of rejection towards those who promote and carry out attacks against civilians.”
On a practical level, the process involves “using the income tax return to divert a portion of the total taxes to a project that works to defend socially equitable progress.”
In the Basque Country, the KEM-MOC collective is among the groups supporting the initiative. It plans to open advisory offices in Vitoria-Gasteiz, San Sebastián and Bilbao during April and May to guide participants.
In a strongly worded statement, the group framed the campaign as both a personal and collective act: “Tax resistance is not just an individual act, but a collective action that strengthens social movements in the Basque Country. By exercising tax resistance, we send a clear message to governments and the arms industry: we refuse to be complicit in war!”
The organisation also criticised Spain’s defence spending, claiming that €36 billion was allocated to military expenditure in 2025, “a figure that could rise to €60 billion with hidden allocations,” alongside “another €95 billion invested in the new arms race.”
“This spending, which doubles the investment in the Minimum Living Income, leads to cuts in healthcare, education and social services, increasing social inequality,” the group stated. “This squandering on weaponry fuels the spiral of global violence and demonstrates the government's alignment with the interests of the military industry.”
How to divert your taxes away from funding the war effort
Detailed guidance has been published by various antimilitarist groups linked to Insumissia, outlining how individuals can participate.
The easiest way, they note, is to make a simple bank transfer to a chosen social or pacifist organisation, noting “Tax Objection to Military Spending” in the payment details, and then reflecting that amount in their tax return in an unused section.
Insumissia is also happy to provide assistance on this relatively niche but growing trend within Spanish society, and any legally registered gestor or asesor who presents your income tax returns for you will also be able to help, provided you tell them exactly what you wish to do.
Participants are also encouraged to formally declare their stance to the Hacienda tax authority (in Spanish), stating their intention and reasons for not wanting to collaborate in military spending, expressly declaring their status as a “conscientious objector” to military spending.
Finally, organisers ask participants to report their actions to Insumissia so they can be included in a collective annual report, helping to quantify and publicise what they see as a growing movement of fiscal resistance to war funding.
Image: JJFarquitectos
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
