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Issue 772
1 - 7 AUGUST 2014
Tax returns BRITISH EXPATS living on the Costa Blanca suffer frustration and discrimination at the hands of the Spanish tax authorities, the European Commission has been told. by Jack Troughton
Dancers from Alicante and Valencia join in
Swinging Saturday SWING AND ‘Lindy Hop’ dancers will join the Sant Andreu Jazz Band in Javea on Saturday night (2nd August) for the opening night of the 2014 Jazz Festival. Around 20 dancers from Alicante and Valencia dance schools will join Europe’s youngest jazz ‘big band’ and throw some moves for the audience on Plaza Constitucion from 10.30pm. Tickets are 15€.
NATIONAL AND Local tax penalties, punitive inheritance tax laws, and the more recent overseas wealth declarations – which have triggered ever more crossborder problems with the authorities – are all seen as a problem for EU nationals moving within the single market. The ongoing problem prompted the Commission to launch an initiative inviting people to inform them of tax issues arising when they actively moved between member states. And the Commission promised feedback would allow officers to discover solutions to problems highlighted regarding cross border taxation. Campaigner Margaret Hales, MBE, agreed to return a compilation of the personal experiences of British expats living on the coast to the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union. She reminded Brussels of how at the start of the millennium the “dream” of moving to Spain had captured the imagination of the British public. Margaret noted: “Enthusiastic promotional campaigns by a buoyant Spanish construction industry along the whole coast of Spain led families moving to enjoy a Mediterranean lifestyle. “The British government quickly adopted a helpful advisory system re-
garding health provision and transferring to the Spanish income tax system. The existence of a ‘double tax system’ was taken for granted as a benefit of the EU, as was the ease of movement and settling down in Spain.” But she said the country was relatively cheap, collection of taxes “lax”, life was good, and the economy booming – few thought of inheritance tax, declaration of assets, or hard economic times. “They were not in that part of their ‘life cycle’ to consider death, senility and the effect of a different country, its traditions and its taxes in later life. Nor did the estate agents and developers touch on such murky matters,” said Margaret. “Now, some 14 years later, with all the familiar problems of the financial crisis, the realisation that ‘double tax agreements’ only applied to income tax and not other forms of taxation came as a bolt out of the blue.” And Margaret, who lives in Benitachell, said ongoing confusion had led to some people leaving Spain, others selling holiday homes at a loss, while the Spanish government had been required by Brussels to raise taxation – forcing up prices, increasing the personal tax burden, and instituting other taxation such as the asset declaration. Continued on page 4