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How to ..... ?

This blog is intended to be helpful to English-speaking foreign residents in Spain by explaining "How to ... " do certain things. "The DIY Guy" has lived in Spain full time since 2008. A fluent Spanish-speaker he reckons he knows his way round the bureaucracy, the indifference and sometimes downright rudeness of "funcionarios". He's also pretty good with his hands, doing up houses and renovating things.

HOW TO .....? Are GESTORIAS the answer?
Saturday, November 9, 2024 @ 9:15 PM

I don't understand it! Why don’t we have something similar in the UK?

A gestor/gestora does all those official tasks that the British hate, but nevertheless do themselves, muttering all the while. And a gestor doesn’t charge much – their rates are fixed by the government.

A lawyer can do these things also, but in my experience of Spain over a quarter of a century, they are inefficient, slow and costly.                                    At the gestoria [Photo courtesy of Freepik]

 

What is a gestor and what does he do?

The commonly used translation of gestor in English is “fixer”, although I don’t like that word – it smacks of dodgy practices, which a Spanish gestor most definitely is not.

A gestor is a quasi-government official, often with legal training.

The gestoria I use is a family firm and they cover just about everything.

I use Daniel to do my annual tax declaration, and he charges me 50 euros. For three years running I received threatening letters from HACIENDA, accusing me of “fiddling” my tax.

Daniel sorted it out each time. Toca madera (touch wood), I haven’t received a similar letter for several years. Hacienda appears to have accepted that they were wrong.

Another colleague, Daniel’s nephew Miguel, sorted out my permit to allow me to rent property legally. If I recall correctly, he charged me 30 euros.

Ana Maria organised a replacement TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) and driving licence when my wallet disappeared. This service is invaluable. 

If you do it yourself, it’s much more complicated and involves a trip to Málaga City to go to the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico) for the driving licence. If your gestor does it he goes to Málaga. What with the cost of fuel and parking, the gestor’s charge, 50 euros, is an absolute bargain. If you wish to challenge a traffic fine, they can also help with that, but, as Sergio explained, you never win against the police, so it’s better and much cheaper to pay the fine quickly and get the 50% discount.

 

A good gestor can save you money

When I sold a property in 2019 for 85,000 euros, I made a capital gain of 25,000, so I was liable to pay tax on that. However, the afore-mentioned Daniel, was able to legitimately off-set so much, that my CGT bill was reduced to a mere 50 euros! And what did he charge me? 50 euros. What a bargain!

I’m going to see him shortly to get him to help me claim a tax refund on some bonds I cashed in a few years ago and for which I was taxed, incorrectly, at the maximum rate. If I’m quick, that could be a nice little Christmas bonus!

Piso Blanco, Ronda, cost me 50€ in CGT [Photo PW]

 

Footnote

In my opinion people who try to do all this themselves are either crazy or foreigners. No Spaniard I know would dream of doing his own tax declaration or indeed anything official.

“Guiris” with little Spanish often try to do it themselves or use expensive lawyers.

As for me, also a "guiri"I love it that a gestor will do everything for me at a fair cost.

 

© The DIY Guy

 

Links:

Beating the Spanish tax man ... or not? - Olive Press News Spain

HOW TO ….. BUY A HOUSE in Spain?

HOW TO ….. do your Spanish INCOME TAX return?

SERRONSA - RONDA CENTRO COMERCIAL ABIERTO

Where there’s a WILL … the process in Spain - Secret Serrania de Ronda

 

Acknowledgements:

Gestoría Jimenez

 

Photos and Images:

Freepik

Gestoría Jimenez

Paul Whitelock

Wikipedia

 

Tags:

annual tax declaration, capital gain, CGT, cost of fuel and parking, DGT, Dirección General de Tráfico, driving licence, expensive lawyers, “fixer”, gestor, gestoria, guiri, Hacienda, Málaga, TIE, Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, tax refund, toca madera, traffic fine



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