Tax warning for UK residents planning to buy property in Spain
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UK residents planning to buy a holiday home in Spain have been warned they could be hit with a 100% tax rise as the country tries to tackle its housing shortage. Public anger is growing in Spain and other European countries as locals are being priced out of home ownership by rents driven up by gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative, short-term tourist rentals, especially in urban and coastal areas.
In Barcelona, there have been protests over soaring housing costs, with some residents saying it is becoming unliveable, prompting the mayor to vow to abolish short-term holiday lets. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told an event on affordable housing on Monday the West faced a challenge - "to not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and the poor tenants".
Property prices had increased by 48% in the past decade in Europe, he added. Spain has long been a popular destination for holiday home buyers trying to move permanently to a sunnier climate, especially among those from the UK, looking to buy properties in places such as Ibiza, Marbella and Barcelona.
Its popularity has helped to push up Spanish property values over many years. Body found in Spain believed to be that of missing Belfast man John George. John George: Brother of missing Belfast man believed dead says family not leaving Spain 'without his body'.
