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SPANISH HACIENDA HOMES IN ON NON RESIDENT AND RESIDENT TAX IN SPAIN

cadizcasa — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:58:57 +0000

Not surprisingly, in these cash strapped days, the Spanish Hacienda are thinking up ways to squeeze every last drop of tax out of not only Spanish non residents who own property in Spain but Spanish residents who own property outside of Spain.
It has long been the rule that if you are a non resident and own property in Spain you should be paying non resident tax on that property and making an annual declaration to the Hacienda or Tax Authority. If you help to subsidise the running costs of your property in Spain by doing a bit of renting then you need to declare that income here in Spain also. What has changed? Well instead of the usual return process, you are now required to make a return for every client who rents from you even if it is only for 2 or 3 days. If the house is in joint ownership for example between husband and wife each needs to make a return so 2 returns per rental client. In addition, the Hacienda wants to see the Passport number or national identification (NIE or DNI) of the clients or if you rent through an Agency the Agency CIF will do. Quite what our already under financed and under staffed Hacienda will do with all this paper is a mystery but those are the rules. Lesley McEwan from Cadizcasa the well known rental agent on the Costa de la Luz said “rental property is a vital income for many overseas owners but these new tax rules are going to put many off renting as they are far more complex and costly. The majority of overseas owners use a Spanish assessor to complete their tax return and they are not going to do 20 tax returns for the same price as they were doing 2. In essence if you only rented to cover the costs you now need to factor in these additional charges when deciding if it is worth renting your property and I think many will decide not to rent. This will affect our local economy so in my opinion the Hacienda needs to rethink this fast”.
You may feel that if you have declared yourself as a Spanish resident and are paying your way in Spain what you have outside the country is not their business but sadly that is not the case. For many years, you have been required as a resident to declare all your worldwide assets but there is great confusion over this and many have either failed to do so or do not know what to do. However, a new piece of legislation commonly referred to as 7/2012 may be sufficient to change things. It requires all Spanish residents to disclose any asset outside Spain with a value of 50,000 euros or over. This also covers balances in different accounts which amount to more than the 50,000 limit. This includes bank account balances, property, insurances etc and to be able, if requested, to prove that the funds had been taxed appropriately in Spain before they left to purchase the item. If the funds came from the UK then you may still be asked to show where they came from. The penalties are harsh for failing to declare with minimum fines of 10,000 euros, the tax payable could be 52% with a penalty of a further 150% of that tax being charged on top. All in all you could end up losing the investment or property and still owe the Hacienda money. Is it practical for them to chased thousands of Brits for a small flat they use when they go home to see the grand children? Well, the wise owls believe that this tax is aimed at capturing rich Spaniards who shipped their black money out of the country by buying property abroad not at rounding up a few wayward foreign Johnnies who failed to declare their modest investment. Sadly though, as always happens in these cases, some innocents will undoubtedly get caught up in the net and pay dearly for their errors. Lesley McEwan of Cadizcasa said “this new rule will affect the majority of overseas property owners in Spain. Most people become very concerned when they feel their private affairs are under scrutiny but the penalties this new law carries are just too steep to ignore it. Taxation in Spain is notorious for being punitive but we need to get a balance. Many of my clients own businesses here in Spain and give work to the local community, they pay in to the tax and social security systems so I think we need to go steady on further taxion or we may drive some of them away”.
Bottom line is if you have anything worth 50,000 euros in any of the categories mentioned then get yourself to a tax specialist and submit the form. Likewise if you own a property in Spain or are renting out a property in Spain but not living in Spain then the time has come to do something about a declaration before the taxman comes knocking on the door.

CADIZCASA WELCOME A PLACE IN THE SUN TV SHOW TO THE COSTA DE LA LUZ

cadizcasa — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:53:19 +0000

A film crew from channel 4 accompanied by the lovely programme presenter Jasmine Harman have been filming in the Costa de la Luz. Lesley McEwan MD of the popular estate agent Cadizcasa.com said “we were very pleased when the production team for the TV programme A Place In The Sun contacted us to help out with property suggestions for a new series they were filming in the Cadiz area. The film crew and Jasmine were here several days filming around the coast and the programme will be screened shortly. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best but the couple searching for a new home, who I believe were retired, certainly liked the area and were very taken with La Barrosa Beach in Chiclana de la Frontera.

At present the property market in Spain is not as buoyant as in previous years and publicity such as this is vital to kick start our economy again and raise people´s awareness and interest in this area. This coast has such a lot to offer and particularly Chiclana so it is important we take every opportunity to maximise on publicity and coverage. I asked Jasmine if they would be back in the area again and the consensus amongst the director, producer and crew was that they would certainly visit again”.

NEW GERMAN WEBSITE FOR PROPERTY SALES AND RENTALS ON THE COSTA DE LA LUZ

cadizcasa — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:07:49 +0000

Cadizcasa have launched their new German website for property sales and rentals. The well known Costa de la Luz estate and rental agent added the new website to their on line portfolio on 23 December 2011.

Cadizcasa have had both an English and Spanish language website for many years but Lesley McEwan, MD said “we know how much the German people like the beautiful, unspoilt Costa de la Luz and how popular it has been with them for many years. We felt it was time to give them a dedicated German site where all the information about our properties for sale and for rental can be viewed in their own language. The site is proving very popular and we will shortly have a German lady available to answer client calls and enquiries. The Spanish property market is tough at the moment and the more we can open up that market to overseas buyers the faster we will see an improvement”.

CADIZCASA SPEAKS WITH BRITISH AMBASSADOR REGARDING ILLEGAL PROPERTIES

cadizcasa — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:14:15 +0000

The British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman, LVO was appraised of the illegal property problems regarding Chiclana de la Frontera during a 15 minute discussion with Lesley McEwan, Managing Director of Cadizcasa Ethical Estate Agents earlier this month. Mr Paxman was attending the launch of the Honourary British Consul, Alejandra Cruz-Conde at the Villa del Duque in Jerez.

Lesley McEwan said “It was a pleasure to meet the Ambassador and to discuss this very serious problem directly with him. The Ambassador was aware of the problems in the Costa de la Luz but not of the extent of the problem, particularly in the Chiclana de la Frontera area where we have around 18,000 illegal properties. He told me that he has appointed a new member of staff to the Embassy to look in to the illegal housing issues.

It is very reassuring to know that this problem has been recognised at this level and that the Ambassador is taking a personal interest in a matter which affects many house owners on this coast. I told the Ambassador that my company works daily with people who have been left in terrible circumstances by having done nothing wrong other than trust people they considered to be professionals. Sadly many were let down and now find themselves with illegal properties and court cases against constructors etc pending. My goal for Cadizcasa is to move forward and bring about a change in the way estate agency is operated in these areas. We want to introduce the ethics which should always have been there and ensure that all purchasers are correctly advised about the paperwork for a property before they purchase. There are many fabulous and good value properties on the Costa de la Luz but the bad publicity could affect the property market so we need to act now”.

For further information please contact:-
Lesley McEwan at Cadizcasa

HOW TO SOLVE YOUR SPANISH PROPERTY DILEMMAS FREE OF CHARGE

cadizcasa — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:05:07 +0000

Unless you went trendy when you bought in Spain and snapped up one of the famous bijou cave dwelling and now live in complete isolation with no electricity, water or communication with the outside world you will have heard that we have property problems here in Spain. Problems range from unfinished building sites and communal areas to illegal properties with the risk of demolition hanging over them.

One of the worst areas for the more serious problems is Andalucia. The government have released the figure of 300,000 illegal properties in the region and considering governments like to play down the not so tasteful aspects, we can probably add a few more to that figure.

It is a subject which for many years kept its head down and bubbled away under the surface. Sadly the housing boom put paid to its clandestine existence and it was rocketed to the front pages of the press both here and in the UK. Small production companies were looking for a new “angle” on Spain and we ended up with TV gems such as Holiday Homes from Hell. Informative and educational or choreographed terror tactics to keep the audience glued and coming back for more? Well I leave you to decide but the fact is that many people are living in properties which had no planning permission or completion certificate and which are built on land not designated for building. The jury is still firmly out on whether that situation can be rectified, how long it will take and who is going to pay for it. As for the culprits, are we dealing with organised crime and criminal intent or just a few sharp cookies who exploited the holes in the system?

Of course we are talking about the extremes here. Not all properties have major legal problems. Some people suffer from poor aftersales service when buying a new property, the door that never closes, the window that never opens. Life´s little hassles that are not going to cause you or your family any long term harm but can be a bugbear.

Well I guess about now you are saying “get on with it and tell us what we can do for free to sort things out”.

There are numerous options believe me. For the little niggles like the doors and windows. If it is a resale house then you need to note them and ask for a repair before you sign and pay for the house. Otherwise it will be difficult to get them sorted afterwards. Buying second hand really is “sold as seen” unless there is a substantial problem which the previous owner failed to tell you about. There are some things which are covered by your household insurance such as ceramic hobs which can be sorted out free of charge so always ask the insurer what you are covered for.

If you bought a new house, get a list of the problems to the constructor within 14 days of moving in and keep a copy. He is duty bound to put right any defects in a new home. If they do not show their ugly little heads – I mean the faults – not the builders – until you have been in the house a while. You will be relying on the 10 year guarantee to put them right so always ask about a guarantee before you sign and pay for the house.

For those of you who live in an apartment or group of houses with communal facilities, you will have a community to manage the communal areas so get to know the community President and the Administrator. The five minutes spent getting to know them can be a great investment for the future. Administrators are experts in property law so even if you do not think the problem is communal have a word with them for a bit of free advice. The President and Administrator will sort out not only problems with communal gardens and pools but anything which affects your property and could spread to other properties such as water leaks, cockroaches and mice which all come under their jurisdiction. So don’t always think you will have to deal with it alone or indeed pay for the whole problem. Some items are classed as community and the community will pay part or in some cases all of the costs.

The more serious problems such as illegal houses can be tackled in several ways. If you bought a property having been told that it was legal by the seller, agent, builder or solicitor and you find out that it is not then you can make a complaint to one of the many Oficianas Municipales de Informacion al Consumidor or Citizens Advice Offices. You will find your local office listed on the Website of the Ministerio de Sanidad y Politica Social. They can offer advice and mediation services. They can also escalate a complaint to the Junta Arbitral de Consumo who are an extrajudicial, free and efficient way of solving disputes.

You also have the right to make a denuncia (complaint) to the police as property fraud is a criminal activity. You can do this by phone in either Spanish or English 7 days a week, 24 hours a day by calling 902 102 112 or via the website at www.policia.es Alternatively, you can visit a National Police or Guardia Civil police station personally and make a denuncia there.

Moving right on up the complaints chain there is the Special Prosecutor´s Office for Corruption and Organised Crime. They co-ordinate various public prosecutors across Spain who deal with economic crime. The Public Prosecutor is Antonio Salinas Casado who can be contacted by email at the www.fiscal.es website or on 915717415 and if you believe that yours is not an isolated case then this man will certainly want to hear from you.

If the decision to buy in Spain swept over you while you were living in the UK, watching the rain fall and dreaming of sunnier climbs you can also seek advice and make a complaint to The European Consumer Centres Network. They were set up by the European Commission to give consumers advice on cross-border disputes. You can contact them at www.ukecc.net

On the other hand if you´ve had a really bad day, kicked a few inanimate objects and still don’t feel any better then you can contact the United Nations Special Rapporteur. There are two of them appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. Their remit is to advise and publicly report on human rights situations and violations world wide. They have the ability to write to governments asking them to comment on situations, to remind them of their obligations under international law and request information on the steps being taken by that government to sort out the situation. You can email them at urgent-action@ohchr.org

Worrying about a problem has never been known to sort it but winning an argument and getting a result can do your moral and health a great deal of good not to mention your pocket so now you are armed with the various options, I leave you to do battle and may you be triumphant.