Anything to stop a non-EU resident owning an EU company that owns a Spanish home?
Of course not! Such an insane plan.
Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
81–90 of 282 posts
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#82This will undoubtedly make some brexiteers very unhappy.
Is that because:
A.) There is significant overlap between Brexiteers and those with enough extra wealth to afford vacation / second homes in Spain. Is there any way to quantify this? I would have thought that those with a nationalistic bent wouldn't be keen to own homes in foreign lands. Plus I had the impression that the Remainers were more towards the urban, wealthy, citizen-of-the-world types who would at first blush seem more likely to buy houses elsewhere.
B.) The Brexiteers were hoping that the Remainers would all move away, so they don't have to deal with them anymore?
C.) The Brexiteers want to colonize Spain?
D.) Brexiteers wish they would have thought of the idea punitive taxes on foreigners first?
E.) Other?
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#83Anything to stop a non-EU resident owning an EU company that owns a Spanish home?
One of the more effective (but potentially over reaching) parts of EU law is that the governments usually give enforcement powers with discretion on how to enforce them. On the one hand it’s annoying because there are no clear rules for how to do business at times. On the other hand, it does typically do a better job of articulating the “spirit of the law” and not allowing people to hack around the letter of the law.
I’m pretty sure if using a hack became a trend, then they would start suing people in a few years down the road and extract all the money.
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#84Anything to stop a non-EU resident owning an EU company that owns a Spanish home?
It's not trivial to set up a business as a non-eu citizien. As far as I know every EU business has to have an eu citizen representative. Additionally, a company owned property can't just be used privately.
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
in Canada, like in the US, it's a lack of supply mostly because of draconian zoning and land-use policies. Chinese immigrants are NOT the primary cause of housing cost inflation, and are likely not even in the top 10 causes.
I don't know or claim that it's any truer, but I thought the oft-reported reason, for Vancouver/BC especially, was Chinese investment , and explicitly not immigration even, the chief complaint that the growth has been/is expected to be such that they're left unoccupied?
>for Vancouver/BC especially
The ALR bans any and all significant development in BC.
Land is not scarce in BC; land that it's legal to build on is.
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#86so is there any actual evidence that foreign home ownership is causing meaningful housing price inflation in Spain? or is this just uninformed pandering like it is in the US
Of course, it's just more demand, like immigration, aging population and so on. Of course those are a much more difficult target..
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#87Canada should follow suit
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#88Anything to stop a non-EU resident owning an EU company that owns a Spanish home?
It's not trivial to set up a business as a non-eu citizien. As far as I know every EU business has to have an eu citizen representative. Additionally, a company owned property can't just be used privately.
>As far as I know every EU business has to have an eu citizen representative
You can't hire a nominee director?
>Additionally, a company owned property can't just be used privately.
They can't "rent" it back to the owner?
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Meaningful is a weasel word here. Even 0.1% price increase which would be impossible to measure directly still adds up across the entire housing sector. But, equally important is simply the number of natives prevented from buying the home they want because someone is getting a vacation property.
But you also need to measure the dampening impact on home building. If builders would have built N units knowing they could easily sell some % them to foreign buyers but now they can’t, then you might lose the whole supply. And all the knock on effects for contractors, suppliers, etc
Pedantic nit: dampening is to wet, damping is to subdue oscillations.
Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents
#90I want to make sure I understand this correctly. If you bought a house a few years ago, Spain will effectively rob you of it now? Or will it only apply to new purchases, so you'll have to pay x2 market value if you want to buy one? If it's the former, than even flaunting such a plan is a complete catastrophe for any foreign investment in Spain from now on. But if it's the latter, it'll just bring to life a whole indu…
What make you think it would apply retroactively? Taxes rarely do, I can’t even think of a single example (but would be happy to learn about one). Putting someone else’s name on the deed is a very bad idea for several reasons. I really can’t imagine anyone doing that, unless it’s a trusted family member or something like that.
California is notorious for implementing retroactive taxes, having done it multiple times. I can't think of an example from another jurisdiction though.