Earlier this year, I wrote an article about the introduction of solidarity tax in Spain. This is a “temporary” (we shall see) tax on wealth for those with more than €3,000,000 in assets. This is in addition to wealth tax although any wealth tax due can be deducted from the solidarity tax bill. (This is not the case for residents of the Madrid or Andalusia regions as there is no Wealth Tax currently).

I have been working with clients who are affected by these taxes, trying to find ways of reducing the tax liability. Reducing wealth by gifting to, say, children is an option but that can create additional immediate tax problems. Also, for a number of different reasons, some clients are not willing to gift anything in their lifetime.
The amount of wealth Tax that has to be paid can be governed by income. Your income tax and wealth tax cannot exceed 60% of your total taxable income.

Example:
– Total taxable income is €40,000

– Tax payable €8,000

– Assets subject to wealth tax €3,000,000

– Wealth tax due €39,000

– The maximum that can be paid when adding income tax and wealth tax together is 60% of the total taxable income (€40,000).

– €40,000 x 60% = €24,000

Therefore, the maximum wealth tax that can be paid is €16,000 (€24,000 less €8,000 income tax).

To find out how we can help you with your existing investments, pensions, and tax planning, and provide you with ideas for the future, contact me today at john.hayward@spectrum-ifa.com or on +34 618 204 731 (WhatsApp)

Just when you thought that it was safe to win the lottery in Andalusia or Madrid, the socialist Spanish government have introduced a new
temporary Solidarity Tax.

According to Investopedia, a solidarity tax is a government-imposed tax that is levied in an attempt to provide funding towards theoretically unifying (or solidifying) projects. In other words, it is a tax on the wealthy to provide funds for the not so wealthy. Other regions still have Wealth Tax with varying allowances and this will continue without the risk of having to pay two taxes. That said, taxes are rarely straightforward and I am confident that there will be issues in the future which will result in the Spanish tax office tweaking things. It is interesting, if not extremely concerning, that Wealth Tax was introduced on a temporary basis as well. It has been around for the last 11 years. So, not really temporary in my opinion.

In Spain, the tax office can reference the Cadastre to establish a property value. However, they do not have access to the land registry in, say, the UK. Therefore, the only price that is in writing is the purchase price. It is this value that should be entered on the Modelo 720 and subsequently be liable, or not, for Wealth Tax. My suspicion is that people have declared what they believe to be the market value and are possibly paying too much in Wealth Tax as a consequence.

By redistributing wealth and utilising the allowances, and applying the 60% rule (contact me for more information), it is possible to reduce Wealth Tax (and/or Solidarity Tax) or even eliminate it completely.

We can introduce you to investment products that are not only tax efficient in Spain in terms of income tax but can help to reduce Wealth Tax.

I was flying back home from London at the weekend and I was sitting beside a fellow Brit who seemed very pleasant. We got chatting and it turned out he is a keen golfer, lover of warm climes and owns a holiday home in Southern Spain. His wife is a keen gardener. We exchanged pleasantries and he felt frustrated he could not move himself and his wife permanently to Spain. I asked why not? He replied the tax situation in Spain is horrendous from every angle and they have something called Wealth Tax which is unheard of in many countries, including the UK. As a wealthy man, this put it out of the question. He said he had missed the boat regarding a Residencia (TIE) and found queuing for miles at Malaga airport with all the other Brits on returning to the UK from Spain was really unacceptable.

We had over an hour more together on the flight and he was my captive audience. So I proceeded to give him the lowdown on the whole tax situation:

1. Wealth Tax (suspended). From last week, there is no more Wealth Tax for residents and non residents of Andalucia where my companion’s house is located. What or where is Andalucia? Andalucia is a semi autonomous region (one of 17 in Spain) which stretches from the Portuguese border in the West to beyond Almeria in the East and up to Cordoba in the North and is bordered to the South by the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the stunning Seville. Wealth Tax was calculated on the total value of your assets on a varying sliding scale according to the amount. At the upper level it was 2.76% on €10.696m and above. Previously as a resident, you had to pay wealth tax on ALL your worldwide assets. As a non resident, it was only on your Spanish assets.
As a result of the suspension, it is expected that many previously resident expatriates will return from those countries with attractive tax regimes to Andalucia as residents and many first time residents will apply to become permanent residents.

Additionally, the case (tax wise) for coming to live here, these other taxes are just SO friendly:

2. Spanish Succession Tax (IHT) (suspended). This was effectively abolished on 1st January 2018 by granting a 100% allowance on the first €1m and thereafter 99% allowance. Assets sheltered in foreign entities (banks, insurance companies, etc.) which are being inherited by foreign residents (e.g. children living outside of Spain) are also exempt from this IHT.

3. Capital Gains Tax (adjusted). Payable at the same rates by everyone except on the sale of your main residence in Andalucia where it is exempt if you are over age 65.

4. Income Tax (decrease). A decrease by at least 4% p.a. has been announced. On investment income derived from approved EU based Spanish Compliant Investment Bonds, this attracts very low income (savings) tax. We are talking about a drop from a standard income tax upper level rate of around 46% down to a level of between 9% and 11% average over a 20 year period, depending on the amount of income taken.

5. Water consumption tax (suspended). This is planned to be abolished from 2023. So my companion with the big garden and pool was pleased.

6. Residencias. If you hold a TIE (Tarjeta Individual Extranjero), you can stay in Spain up to 6 months, if you are a non taxpayer in Spain. As a taxpayer in Spain, you can stay for an unlimited period. One of the benefits is that in both cases you can join the queue for Nationals and EU citizens with your British passport and TIE – no more queuing! You can also roam the EU Schengen area at will and stay as long as you like (the latter if your TIE is a “Permanente”) within the residency rules of those countries.

Although the application window for TIEs for Brits has closed, you can still apply for a Golden Visa (investor’s visa), come and go as you please but become a tax resident of Spain if you stay more than 183 days. Or you can apply for a non lucrative Visa which allows you to stay as long as you want but you cannot be employed and you have to become a tax resident.

7. Tax residency. What exactly does it mean? Simply put, if you spend more than 183 days in 12 months in Spain, then you must file for tax residency. If your “centre of vital interests” is in Spain (wife or partner here, children in school here, etc.), then you would be judged to be fiscally resident.

At the end of my lengthy discourse, he asked what exactly would this mean for him? So on the back of an inflight magazine, I jotted down some information from him and gave him an approximate potential tax position and the savings he would now have, in addition to some existing ones of which he was not aware.

His total assets in the UK and Spain, including homes, bank accounts, premium bonds, managed investment portfolio and a classic car totalled some €5,526,000. On this as a Spanish resident he would previously have to pay some €98,000 in Wealth Tax. Now it would be zero.

On his pension and investment income of some €166,000, they would pay some €61,000 Spanish Income Tax. But by moving his investment portfolio into a tax efficient Spanish Compliant Bond (based outside of Spain), they could increase the investment part of their income to around a yield of approximately 5% p.a. while lowering their tax bill by some €10,000 p.a. (from €13,900 on their investment income to €3,900).

Of course, he would have to pay Capital Gains Tax on the move from his UK portfolio to the Spanish bond. This would probably be minimal while the markets are currently down. In any event their investment manager had “bed and breakfasted” * their portfolio two years earlier, thus further reducing the potential gain.

And there would be no Inheritance Tax payable by their three children, even if they decided to move to Spain also.

The best part to him seemed to be that his wife could water their garden for as long as she liked!

There was a noticeable spring in his step when my companion left the aircraft in Malaga. I had one too as I felt I had probably gained a new client.

* Bed and Breakfast. This is where you take advantage of the annual UK CGT allowance by selling some or all of your holdings and then buying them back, both just before the end of the tax year. This prevents a large Capital Gain build up over the long term.

Somewhere in this article there must be such good news that you want to know more. Why don’t we discuss it over a coffee? And of course, I don’t mind what they say about Italian coffee, I think the coffee in Spain is the best there is anywhere in the world! It’s the way they make it and serve it. Rather like how we look after our clients.

THIS NEWS IS SO GOOD, WE’RE TELLING YOU
ABOUT IT FOR A SECOND TIME!

Yes, you heard us right, Wealth Tax in Andalucia has been abolished.

The Government in Andalucía is in the process of approving today a 100% allowance for the Wealth Tax liability, as announced by Juanma Moreno, the President of the Junta yesterday, which means in practice the elimination of this tax in the region.

The measure will be effective from Wednesday 21st September 2022 , applicable to Residents in Andalucía and Non-Residents who are liable to Wealth Tax for assets located in this region.

Ten of the top 20 wealth tax payers in 2019 left Andalucia in 2020, resulting in a loss of income for the region of nearly 18 million Euros (3.5 m in wealth tax and 14m in personal income tax). Moreno said he wants people who spend long periods here to make it their permanent home and pay tax here. He estimates it will attract 7,000 new residents which will more than make up the loss of previous revenues.

The Conservative Party, following the tax policy of Madrid where the Wealth Tax was eliminated years ago, has put Andalucía on top of the list of the most attractive locations to live or invest in Spain in terms of taxes, along with other previous decisions taken to practically eliminate the inheritance and gift tax for close relatives, or the reduced transfer tax flat rate of 7% approved in 2021. He also announced a reduction in Income Tax by at least 4%.

Moreno also announced that water consumption tax in the autonomous region will be suspended in 2023.

This measure will boost the Region by removing one of the main barriers for foreigners moving to Spain permanently, or just to buy luxury properties in their personal name, but also attracting those living in other less favourable regions in Spain.

A very welcome and largely demanded decision. If you are planning to move to Andalucia or have delayed doing so until now, please contact me to discuss this important step taken by the regional government and how it could change your and your family’s life style for the better into the future.