Noticias Relacionadas: GOOD NEWS! Little chance of new property tax, which hits Brits hard, getting the green light

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced this week that his government was proposing slapping a 100 percent tax on the sale of Spanish homes to non-residents from outside the European Union. British buyers, who are still the biggest purchasers of property in Spain , would be hugely affected and the announcement has caused widespread concern in Britain. However, opposition politicians, real estate agents and lawyers doubt that the new law, introduced to give Spaniards a greater chance of getting on the property ladder, will ever be approved.

Three key reasons why the tax could be knocked back: Pedro Sanchez does not have a majority in parliament and all coalition partners would have to support it, which appears unlikely. European law does not allow him to take steps of this kind. Property taxes are in the hands of the regional authorities and those which are controlled by the opposition Partido Popular (including the Balearics) have said that they would oppose the tax on the grounds that it was xenophobic. Reaction to the proposed new law Hans Lenz, President of ABINI in Mallorca, told the Bulletin this week that it was a “silly law” which would probably be rejected by parliament. He added that Sanchez had been knocked back on numerous key policies over the years.

“The problem is not that people want to live in Spain, the problem is that there is a lack of housing ,” said Luis de la Matta, director of communications of the Partido Popular, which governs the Balearics and other key regions of Spain. “We are not going to facilitate a xenophobic measure”.

Spanish real estate platform Fotocasa said the measure may discourage foreign investment but its effectiveness was questionable since only two percent of Spanish homes are purchased by non-EU residents. Housing minister Isabel Rodriguez on Tuesday challenged the government’s opponents to scupper the plan. “If someone wants to put a spanner in the works, they will have to answer to the people,” she said.

Twelve point plan to boost the housing market in Spain “Let's get to work’. This is how the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, concluded his presentation of the 12 measures to facilitate access to housing in Spain. The measure includes the controversial 100 percent sales tax on non-resident/non European Union citizens.

These are the twelve measures:

The State has transferred more than 3,300 homes and almost 2 million square metres of residential land to the recently created Public Housing Company, to build thousands of protected flats for affordable rent. Throughout the first half of the year, the Public Housing Company will begin to incorporate the more than 30,000 homes currently held by SAREB, 13,000 of them immediately. It is intended to approve a legal mechanism so that the new Public Housing Company will have priority in the purchase of housing and land, and another to guarantee that all housing built by the State will remain in public ownership indefinitely. The purchase of housing by non-resident non-EU foreigners will be limited, which will be done by increasing the tax burden to 100% of the value of the property. The regulation will be tightened to prosecute fraud in seasonal rentals and a fund will be created so that regional and municipal governments can reinforce inspections. Tax reform will also be taken to Congress to ensure that tourist flats are taxed as a business, promoting, within the framework of the new European directive on VAT, the application of a tax on tourist rentals that puts them on a par with other economic activities. In addition, the aim is to change the system of tax advantages that SOCIMIS have so that they only apply to the promotion of affordable rental housing. A system of public guarantees will be applied to protect owners and tenants who participate in affordable rentals. An aid programme will be set up for the rehabilitation of empty homes to make them available for affordable rent. The Government will propose to the Congress of Deputies the approval of a 100% personal income tax exemption for homeowners who rent their homes according to the Reference Price Index, without the need for them to be located in areas declared to be under stress. The Government will create a new Strategic Project of the Recovery Plan (PERTE) aimed at boosting innovation and modernisation of the industrialised and modular construction sector. It will be located in the province of Valencia to contribute to the reconstruction of the economic fabric affected by the dana. Maintain and increase the aid programmes that will be included in a new State Housing Plan.

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