Before purchasing a property in Spain we would strongly advise you to do some research and find out how this transaction should be done, what you should look for and what you would better avoid in order to play safe and keep well away from the problems and pitfalls that others experienced in the past. [...]
On 17 June 2019 the new Mortgage Law entered into force in order to adapt, with years of delay, our legislation to the EU directives approved back in 2014. This European regulation sought to harmonize the legislation of the member countries with the objective of providing security for banks but mainly for their clients when [...]
We already saw in previous posts of this blog that back in 2015 the Spanish Government had to modify the national legislation on Inheritance and Donation Tax in order to adapt it to the requirements of the sentence issued by the European Court of Justice on the 3 September 2014. As a result, all the [...]
The Government approved on 1st March 2019 the Royal Decree-Law 7/2019 on urgent measures for housing and rentals that modified the Urban Leasing Law (LAU). The idea behind this modification is to increase the protection and security of the tenants, even above the levels they enjoyed before the changes introduced in the 2013 reform that [...]
There are good news for property owners in Andalusia with the approval of the first tax measure of the new Andalusian Government (coalition of the conservative party and the liberals): the exemption of 99% in the final tax bill of the Inheritance and Donations (Gift) Tax, which is included in the Decree Law 1/2019 published [...]
The Spanish Government has recently approved the Royal Decree-Law 5/2019 of 1 March, which adopts contingency measures for a possible Hard Brexit without agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU. Article 2 of the Decree gives it a temporary character as well as conditions the validity of these temporary measures to the existence of [...]
Please note that this entry is obsolete after changes in the law interpretation criteria by the Tax Administration following various judgments of the Supreme Court. You can read more in this entry of our blog Inheritance Tax for non EU residents It is worth pointing out that Brexit would have a deep impact on the taxation [...]
What do I need to do to rent my house to tourists? Is it now forbidden to rent properties in Andalusia for holiday periods? Do I need to register my property with the Andalusian Tourism Council to be able to rent? Following press publications about the new laws ruling the tourist homes and accommodation in [...]
The Supreme Court has declared contrary to the legal system the Revision of the General Urban Plan (PGOU) of Marbella done in 2010 and therefore it has been declared null and void. This plan sought to regularize the situation of more than 16,500 illegal housing built mainly during the local governments of the GIL party [...]
(Edited 15/04/2019 to include latest taxation changes) Fact 1 In Spain, mortis causa successions (to the estate of a deceased person) and inter vivos transactions (gifts between living persons) are taxable. The tax rate is the same although there are differences in the applicable bonuses and deductions. Fact 2 From 1st January 2015, the regional [...]
Spanish Government has approved the Royal Decree Law 9/2015 of 10 July by which certain tax burdens on the taxpayer are reduced. The official reason for this change is that the current economic situation and the forecasts growth over 3% allow the Government to take with immediate effect measures to alleviate the tax burden imposed [...]
The Spanish legislation on inheritance and gift tax continues to receive setbacks. It is the turn now for the Valencian regional legislation and in particular the Article 12 bis of the Law of Valencia 13/1997 which has been declared unconstitutional. We are still far away from an ideal situation where Inheritance tax treatment is harmonized [...]
It is quite common among foreign citizens when signing their Spanish Wills to leave the assets they have in Spain first to the spouse and then to the children (in case of predeceasing, renounce or simultaneous decease). This is slightly different for Spanish citizens as due to the "legítima", which is the legal obligation to [...]
(Edited on the 15/04/2019 to include the latest changes in taxation) Are you aware that, due to the recent changes in the Spanish Law, it is quite possible that now your beneficiaries will not have to pay any Inheritance Tax in Spain or at least their exposure to the tax is drastically reduced? As we [...]
In this entry we review the tax innovations and changes for year 2015 in relation to Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Wealth Tax and Inheritance and Gift Tax and how these changes affect both residents and non-residents. PERSONAL INCOME TAX OBLIGATION TO PRESENT THE TAX RETURN There is no obligation if the gross salary income does [...]
The lower house of the Spanish Parliament (Congreso de los Diputados) approved on 20 November 2014 the fiscal reform that will come into force on 1 January 2015 and that it was subject of research in the previous entry of this blog. Finally it was accepted the amendment presented by the Government party group in [...]
Spanish Government has already submitted to the Parliament and Senate the draft of the 2015 State Budget Law for discussion and further approval. Among the tax novelties contained in this proposal, there is one that in the event that it is finally approved without changes could seriously increase the tax bill for owners selling their [...]
EU rules against Spain on discriminatory Inheritance tax applicable to non-residents We have good news for all foreigners with properties in Spain as their future heirs will surely pay less tax and we have excellent news for non residents who inherited and paid tax in Spain over the last 4 years as they probably [...]
On the 15th May 2014 the Spanish Official Gazette published the new Convention signed between Spain and the United Kingdom for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital which was signed in London on the 14th March 2013 and that will come [...]
What is the Apostille of the Hague Convention? Traditionally, in order to use a public document abroad, it was required to authenticate (legalize) it previously, that is, that the competent authorities of the issuing country as well as the embassy or consulate of the country where it was to be used, did certify that the [...]
(Edited 15/04/2019 to include latest taxation changes) Every now and then we receive inquiries from clients who have properties in Spain in relation to the Inheritance Tax and how to limit or improve the exposure that their heirs will have to the same. There is a lot of information on this subject on the net, [...]
The regional Government of Andalucía and the Government of Spain have come into direct collision with respect to the adoption of a series of legal bodies in the autonomous region that regulate the social objective that housing should have. Thus, the Junta de Andalucía shall be empowered, for example, to fine companies that own empty [...]
A few months ago we published an entry in the blog about the Spanish Law of Cookies and how to comply with it under the title Does your website comply with the Spanish cookie law? and we left some answers pending of the final outcome on the first disciplinary proceedings in this regard in Spain [...]
On the 26th December 2013 was published in the Official Gazette the State Budget Law for 2014 and like every year, again amending certain taxes, particularly the tax rates or ratios related thereto. Let’s see what are the changes this year: * The pensions paid by the Social Security system, are revalued in 2014, in [...]
What does exactly pareja de hecho mean in Spanish law? It would be similar to the common law marriage. A union between two people, regardless of their sex, who want to live together in a committed and durable relationship and who are not united by marriage. How are the unmarried couples regulated in Spain? There [...]
Under existing law, penalties for noncompliance can reach up to 30,000 Euros for the lesser level of sanctions, so it seems crucial to be able to give an affirmative answer to this question. Recently, on the occasion of the publication of our website, we have found ourselves in the need to verify that we comply [...]
The called Act for Entrepreneurs is already in effect. It was approved by the Spanish Parliament and published in the Official Gazette. This law has been prepared to encourage and facilitate the creation and growth of companies and their international development as a necessary engine for the economic recovery of the country. The law has [...]
Welcome to the blog of Vicente & Otaolaurruchi Lawyers. This is the first release of our newly created blog. Our intention is to provide an open and easy-access channel to keep our present and future clients and collaborators periodically informed about new legislation and some other interesting topics and news, related to the investment of [...]
