Well I've had a good read through this thread, from people arguing over petty things like where a bond should be listed if it's for example a dated coupon corporate bond; a perpetual corporate or maybe what is really a bank term deposit, which may have been labelled a bond through to other people moaning about visitors paying their taxi drivers and restaurateurs in cash!
I'm interested because I was thinking of buying a villa for holiday use for myself and family. WAS interested.
In recent years I have rented serviced apartments or villas for a month or so once or twice a year and received marvellous hospitality and enjoyed the varied delights of Valencia; Marbella; Barcelona etc. etc including watching some great football to boot (sorry I couldn't resist that) eating great food and making a few friends as well. In brief, I have come to love Spain.
However I must say to people knocking "long term tourists" for not allowing themselves to be mugged by the thieves and incompetents in government I can only say stop being such bitter and stupid people. Without the money spent by tourists in the busy times you won't have the facilities to enjoy off-season. And any tax liability is on the head of the receiver, not the spender. Relax - brush that chip off your shoulder. Be pleased that "Rosetti" or anyone else is at least turning up and spending some money - without that how can wealth be created within a state to pay for services like hospitals and police? You don't honestly think that ALL Rosetti’s cash spend goes under someone's mattress do you? I often spend up to 80 or 90 days in other countries and none has ever suggested I pay tax there. Not even the good old United States.
Regarding taxes I can tell you that saying to an inspector, "Ooh I didn't declare my income on my flats back in Bayswater because I paid UK tax on it" isn't going to garner much sympathy. You should of course declare the income and ensure your accountants produce the tax certificate to ensure you don't pay "double tax". Just as you do with your dividend income from shares. The registrar will always send a tax certificate even if you hold the shares in nominee names. You still have to declare that dividend income. Remember that you are the one responsible not your accountants, they aren't going to pay any fines and interest for you. YOU sign the form.
However my main reason for replying on this blog is to say that I first heard of the new taxes from an accountant who headed the text message to my phone, "CANCEL ANY PLANS TO BUY IN SPAIN".
This was well timed as I have rented a very nice villa in Marbella at the end of April with the intention of finally biting the bullet and buying somewhere. Now I definitely won't.
My opinion on taxes for people buying a holiday home is that obviously they should pay income tax on any rental income gained in that jurisdiction and obviously the net / gross will always be declared "back home" but again, in reverse of the previous situation tax paid in Spain will be taken into account by ones UK accountants and Her Maj. Seems fair to me. Then one will obviously pay local taxes, what we called rates when life was normal, you know when market stalls weren't called "Pop Ups" and if someone slipped over the first thing you did was go to their aid and not video them for YouTube. I can't think any fair minded person would object to paying those taxes.
However anyone who has worked (no, not lazed around employed by local government drinking coffee and moaning about stress and compensation while ignoring the phone and booking your holidays to be taken during your next extended sick leave) - WORKED for a living for 40 years and paid a fortune in PAYE and NI will surely have had enough of being stung by scroungers and incompetents and I guarantee that this new range of taxes on non-residents will lead to a further drop in property prices. I just rang a friend who had sold a villa 5 years ago and was considering buying back in now at substantially less than he sold at and he said, "God no - no way - are you mad?". Things will only get worse now.
Like New York when it was bankrupt. It got back up there by lowering taxes and throwing out the excesses of bureaucracy - not front line workers like dustmen but office scroungers and bosses. Higher taxes will lead to a lower tax take as it always does and the spiralling mess of debt and front line cuts will continue. Don't forget this is all about the bailout and the consequences of it. And this is how it really works as observed by an American friend....
It is a slow day in a little Spanish village. The streets are deserted. Times are tough. Everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.
A rich German tourist drives into the village and stops at the local hotel. He puts a $100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.
The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the $100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the $100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.
The guy at the Farmers Co-op takes the $100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the tavern.
The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him services on credit.
The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the $100 note.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.
The traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.
No one produced anything.
No one earned anything.
However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.
And that, is how the bail out package works!!