Arnau Cañellas, the delegate in the Balearics, says that the number of site inspections will treble from 300 to 900 and be undertaken between June and September. There will be 44 tax inspectors to carry out these visits which will focus on a control of estate agencies offering all types of rental and on following up complaints that are received regarding the rental of apartments. The agency, he adds, want to "eradicate the fraud which exists with holiday rentals".
The national fraud office will play a key role in this campaign by checking on websites in order to detect possible irregularities. "The office will forward information to us about properties being illegally commercialised via these websites. We will act accordingly. We want there to be zero fraud. Hence, this exhaustive campaign will be undertaken over four months in Majorca and the other islands."
The worst case for an owner who doesn't declare income, Cañellas points out, would be the payment of the tax that has been defrauded (i.e. not paid), plus interest and plus also a fine which corresponds with the specific case.
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Peter, that is absolutely correct. Their is no minimum duration in the tenancy act (Ley de Alquilres Urbanos). The only fraud is tax fraud, and apartment owners tax returns can be checked or verified without knocking on doors of course, as they're all registered with Councils and Hacienda. Nor is this the only area where profits are not being declared of course, - as we see almost every day amongst even the government ministers themselves.
@James van Bregt. Some clarification here is needed on this topic. In spite of the "Alquiler Vacacional" phrase we are now seeing being used every day in the Spanish press, there is no such thing as a "holiday rental". In Spanish law any proprietor can let an apartment for one or two weeks, or even a few days, as there in no minimum duration clause. Letting an apartment is NOT illegal.Now, as anywhere else on the planet, whether or not anybody declares their income is another matter entirely.
It´s not just owners of holiday rentals who should be investigated. Many owners of long term rentals (including my own ) insist on cash payments each month. They will not allow payment by standing order. I wonder if this income is declared to the tax authorities ?
Non-declaration of rental income surely relates directly to the illegality of holiday-letting of apartments. In the same vein, profits from drug dealings aren't declared because narcotics are illegal.Were I to declare my hypothetical rental income from my hypothetical rental apartment, would I not be alerting the authorities to my illegal letting activity?
It will not be allowed I'm sure. It's unconstitutional. You cannot prohibit an individual from advertising a legitimate product or service on any open source media. I've already seen that Airbnb have taken it the the European Comission actually. They're still running around like headless chickens pandering to hoteliers at the moment.
Good to hear that the authorities are checking for tax evasion, - that's their job. This should be focused across all types of businesses though of course. Regarding this ban on landlords advertising on the internet though, it's not at all certain that this will be allowed by the European Commission, they're reviewing it at the moment, as it's discriminatory.