Is living in Spain really that bad now???

 Do you think there will be riots as in England when the Poll tax was introduced with massive price hikes in the 80's??

Presumably it all depends on how many are affected, whether it's foreign nationals and Spanish alike or not. Do the Spanish rise up? Is it in their nature? Time will tell whether this is followed across the board or just in certain localities. No-one minds if in times of economic downturn it turns out to be a fair tax across the board (not excessive as in the examples quoted), but if it is aimed at a specific target (i.e. foreign investors) then there probably will be questions asked, don't you think Georgia?

Ads:....From the same article:

It also appears that the tax authorities have been exaggerating the property sizes that rates are based on. Careful scrutiny of IBI bills shows that property sizes have increased from one year to the next. “It appear that this has happened to most if not all of us, meaning that we are paying tax on land that does not actually exist,” Stephen Joyce, a Monte Pego resident, told RTN.

They can't actually do this. 

All you need to do is go into:

https://www1.sedecatastro.gob.es/OVCFrames.aspx?TIPO=Consulta

and look at your property on the catastro map.  All the property details can be pulled up.  They can't make your house bigger than it is shown on the screen.  They CAN change the rateable value per m2 after a review.  How do these rates compare with, say, Brighton or Eastbourne?

n.b.  doesn't seem to work with Firefox, just Internet Explorer

Thanks MaxKite

re https://www1.sedecatastro.gob.es/OVCFrames.aspx?TIPO=ConsultaI

is this a trusted site then?...presumably it's OK to override the protection in Firefox?

When making comparisons to the UK much depends on what services etc the municipalities provide for their monies I suppose.

Dear All,

please stop this mad exodus.

Expats' exodus as Brits give up on la dolce vita

no matter how bad it gets please stay where you are.

you can rely on the ex-pats with good euro incomes to man the soup kitchens.

we have not got room for you to come back and we certainly cannot afford you.

we are bankrupt.

forgive the repetition..........

"Now the government has to find a staggering £676 billion this year just to meet its public spending commitments and repay its debt.

Trouble is income from taxes and other sources will only be £498 billion… leaving us with a crushing £178 billion shortfall in just one year."

we are bankrupt, really bankrupt, we cannot sustain this debt and pay our 20% into EU coffers.

we are no better off than you who cannot afford your euro mortgages.

we have little prospects and even the bankers are threatening to leave us for global positions elsewhere.

stay where you are and rally round each other.

I will send a chicken or two when I can and maybe the occasional pork chop.

Sorry to be gloomy but bad news cannot be ignored.

Regards

Norman

PS the weather is slowly improving and the green and pleasant land is beginning to show through.

Ads - yes this is a government site.

Datos del Bien Inmueble Referencia catastral 6246708BD3064N0001AL       Obtener etiqueta    Copiar referencia al portapapeles Localización CL PALOMAS LAS 7 03700 DENIA (ALACANT) Clase Urbano Superficie(**) 275 m2 Coeficiente de participación 99,999900 % Uso Residencial Año construcción local principal 1988 Datos de la Finca en la que se integra el Bien Inmueble Localización CL PALOMAS LAS 7 DENIA (ALACANT) Superficie construida 275 m2 Superficie suelo 1.260 m2 Tipo Finca Parcela con un unico inmueble Elementos Construidos del Bien Inmueble   Uso Escalera Planta Puerta Superficie catastral (m2) VIVIENDA 0 00 00 176 VIVIENDA 0 01 00 67 PUBLICO 0 00 00 32

My browser seems to block the arial photo, and I don't have time to mess about with permissions at the mo, but it is do-able.

Whilst the %  tax hike in Costa Blanca seems high, well it is, the example given was a villa on Monte Pego having previously having a annual tax bill of 136 euros, now to be increased to 539 euros. Well all I can say is how lucky they are to have it so good for so long and even after the rise it doesn't seem so bad compared to our bill, in Peniscola for a 3 bed villa we are paying nearly 800 euros pa.

Normansands - don't give me that poor old Britain nonsense - Our Gord has been telling everyone what a bright future Groovy New Cool Britannia has...and I believe every word he says...after all, he is your elected representative isn't he?...er...

Poppyseed - do you really live in a town called Peniscola????

Yes, Peniscola is real !!  And the castle is one of Spain's most visited places.

http://en.peniscola.es/

Dear All,

please keep it simple for me.

if we are both in the EU and I am paying a fortune and you are paying so little, then it follows that I am subsidising you.

there is no other explanation.

this is in addition to sending you winter fuel allowances, while I shiver, sneeze and cough till it hurts.

it has got to stop and soon.

come back Maggie and give them a good handbagging.

Woe is me.

Regards

Norman

 Norman,

I don't think there is much fear of us all coming back not unless the BNP get their way and clear 50% off the island........i don't think there is room..mind you,with a poll stating that 40% of Brits would vote for the new Nazi party, i don't see this adding to the appeal..

as they say, there are lies, damn lies and statistics......

It may be tough here but in another poll it stated that 78% of Ex pats in Spain would rather tough it out here than return to the  green green grass of Warsaw...

My IBI IS 264€  for a 5 bed Villa( just for the record) pretty much what i was paying every 2 months in the UK.

I don't think it is a an exodus more like selective evolution,only the strong will survive here.....

Norman

I think this might explain why you have a problem in Britain......

Ah...Poppyseed - we're back to Roberto's ñ (See ordering a beer thread http://www.eyeonspain.com/forums/postslong.aspx?thread=9863&page=0 ). 

It's Peñiscola!!  Goddit!  How do you make an ñ again Roberto?  I can't remember.

Thanks Max - love it - can't be true can it????????

the truth is often stranger than fiction

but it is filtering down, this clever economics.

the students and everyone else are at it, this going bankrupt lark.

that shows them how to get rid of their nasty loans.

there is a nice man or lady provided to fill in all the forms with you and mentor you as it progresses, very quickly these days.

Every day I get calls advising me of the easy way to offload my debts, even mortgages if they were taken out at the right time.

unfortunately the wife is the bookkeeper and I can't get anything passed her.

Ta

Norman

Norman - explains a lot though doesn't it.

How many British Government MPs have ever had a proper job?  Look at your glorious leader - never done a day's useful work in his life.  You do the math. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_brown

How we bob and weave!

Just to say something takes us here and hither

Through the politics of this and that. and what party started what and which MP did or didn't dither

Was it Thatcher or Major or indeed his highness Blair

Or does the system let me or you grab the lions share

Do i need to be young or old to justify the expats ebb and flow

Or do i strike a blow, get off my arse and have a go

Is it Ads or Kite or Norman to whom i kawtow

Or is the subject still " Is Living In Spain That bad Now???''

David - marvellous!! 

Oh dear! David W

We do seem to have troubled you

You want us dead

For losing the thread

We've made you grumpy

'cos the thread's so lumpy

But really it was Fergus

For being so curious

I don't think it was us

Who started the fuss

You're feeling so sad

But it's not us who's bad

You know where this is heading.....

It's 'cos you're living in Reading!

To be curious, ask questions, receive answers from various perspectives, share knowledge, make judgements, isn't that was this is all about?

Max Kite and David,

Very funny poems, but to continue on the thread...LIVING IN SPAIN IS GREAT, I WAKE UP EVERY MORNING AND THINK IS THE BEST DECISION I HAVE TAKEN and I am sorry I cannot discuss the situation in UK, I am not English.

And also after all the windy and rainy days I am seing son now on my terace so this is a reason to be in Spain NOW.

Cheers

Valentina