Latest news with #DelCampo
Local Spain
4 days ago
- Business
- Local Spain
INTERVIEW: 'Spain's 100% tax on foreign buyers will end up in EU courts'
Spain's Socialist-led government has again made headlines after submitting an official proposal in Congress to tax new non-EU non-resident home buyers 100 percent on the value of the Spanish property, an idea first proposed by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in January as a way of limiting "foreign speculation". What has been confirmed now with the draft bill is that the 100 percent tax would apply to the taxable base of the property (the value of the property), which would effectively double its price for these buyers. The legal text presented by the ruling Socialists clarifies that it would not double the property transfer tax (ITP, which is 6 to 11% of the property value depending on the region) as many had previously thought. Such a levy, one of several aimed at addressing Spain's housing crisis, would still need parliamentary approval before it could become a law. Nevertheless, within Spain's legal, fiscal and property spheres, the reaction is one of alarm. "The draft law is very clear: we are talking 100 percent of the highest rateable value," Spanish real estate expert Mark Stücklin, head of Spanish Property Insight, told The Local. "Let's say that's the transaction price of a villa for €300,000€, in which case the tax would be €300,000, minus the ITP deduction. Crazy!" "My reaction is that this would be so ineffective and counterproductive that the PSOE can't really be serious and it's more about trying to outflank Sumar (the Socialists' hard-left junior coalition partner) on the left, but it's getting harder to tell." According to Mallorca-based lawyer Alejandro Del Campo of DMS Consulting, "a State Tax on property transfers which penalises non-residents makes no sense." Del Campo, who has a large portfolio of foreign clients, has appealed in EU courts against several of the Spanish government's discriminatory measures which target non-residents. "The Court of Justice of the European Union has already condemned Spain for discriminating against non-residents with the Inheritance and Gift Tax," the lawyer told The Local, adding that Spanish authorities have also been forced to eliminate discriminating taxes against non-residents vis-à-vis the Wealth Tax and the Solidarity Tax. It's worth noting that many of the laws targeting non-residents predate Spain's current housing crisis, suggesting that Spanish authorities have a longstanding habit of looking at these citizens as a way of filling public coffers. For Del Campo, the 100 percent tax "would flagrantly violate EU law, specifically Article 63 TFEU, which prohibits any restriction on the free movement of capital not only between Member States but also between Member States and third countries." In his eyes, only new builds would be safe from the price doubling, as "new properties are subject to VAT, and the Spanish legislator can't easily interfere with that". Spain's General Council of Economists (CGE) has also spoken out and said that the new supplementary tax on home purchases by non-EU non-residents is "madness," believing it could end up being resolved in court. CGE met with Spain's Registry of Economists and Tax Advisors (REAF) on Wednesday to discuss the Spanish government's proposed new tax on non-EU non-resident property buyers. The general consensus among these experts is that the problem isn't that wealthy foreigners are buying homes, but rather that there is a shortage of properties in certain areas. They therefore doubt the effectiveness of such a "drastic" tax and warn that there are many areas in Spain with significant foreign populations and that therefore there should be some consensus on the issue. For its part, Spain's Registry of Economists and Tax Advisors (REAF) has called the so-called supertax 'shocking' while highlighting that "it's the first time a tax has been established with a 100% tax rate, which raises questions about its potential confiscatory nature". "When the time comes for someone who paid twice the value of their home to want to sell it, will they find someone to buy it? Will they lose money?," said REAF head Agustín Fernández. He therefore considers that were the 100 percent tax to come into force, the subsequent sale of the property by non-resident would be "unviable", as the levy "penalises" investment by non-EU residents. "We imagine the courts will ultimately rule on the tax's confiscatory nature," Fernández concluded.
Local Spain
4 days ago
- Climate
- Local Spain
Spain warns next days could be hottest for late May since 1950
A "mass of very warm air from north Africa" will bring heat usually seen in July, said AEMET spokesman Rubén del Campo. Maximum temperatures in some areas will reach "more than 10 degrees above normal for the time of year, especially in parts of the north, east and south", he added. The southern Andalusia region will swelter under peak temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and a new all-time heat record for May "cannot be ruled out", said Del Campo. AEMET wrote on X that "the days from May 29th to June 1st could be the hottest for those specific dates since 1950 at least." Scientists say climate change driven by human activity is increasing the length, frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves. The last three years have been the hottest on record in Spain, which is emerging from a years-long drought.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
UK tourists warned as Spain to be 'hotter than Caribbean' at key holiday time
Spain is preparing for another scorching end to May, with temperatures in the southern regions expected to reach 40C (104F) due to high-pressure zones and a surge of hot, dry air causing temperatures to rise more than 10C above the seasonal average. This heatwave arrives almost exactly three years after parts of Spain recorded their hottest May since records began, with temperatures at Seville airport hitting 41C. Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for Spain's meteorological office, Aemet, said: "The last week of May will see a high-temperature episode across a good part of the peninsula, with the kind of temperatures normally seen in high summer, especially from Wednesday,". Read more: Foreign Office warns UK tourists "In some southern parts of the peninsula, we could see maximum temperatures of more than 40C, and the temperature won't drop below 20C in that region or in Mediterranean areas. We're talking about maximum temperatures that are between five and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year. In some areas, the temperatures will be more than 10 degrees above normal on Thursday." Del Campo attributed the soaring temperatures to high-pressure areas over the peninsula – "which guarantee stable weather with few clouds and a lot of sun" – and the arrival of a mass of dry, warm air over the peninsula from North Africa. He noted that the most impacted areas would be south-east Spain, its central region, and the Ebro Valley in the north-east of the country. The two hottest days this week – likely Thursday and Friday – are predicted to see temperatures soar to 35C in central and northern regions and 40C along the Guadalquivir River in Andalucía. The heatwave is expected to persist until at least Saturday, when atmospheric instability could usher in clouds, dust clouds, and a drop in temperatures. Spain's highest ever temperature was recorded in August 2021, when the mercury in the Andalucían town of Montoro, near Córdoba, hit 47.4C. A 2022 Aemet study revealed that the onset of 30C temperatures across Spain and the Balearic islands had arrived an average of 20 to 40 days earlier over the past 71 years. "The summer is eating up the spring," Del Campo told El País at the time. "What's happening fits perfectly with a situation where you have a warmer planet," he said, adding that the rise in temperatures was a "direct and palpable [consequence] of climate change ... The climate in Spain isn't the one we used to know. It's got more extreme."
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Climate
- Irish Examiner
Spain braces for late May heatwave with 40C forecast in south of country
Spain is bracing for another sweltering end to May, with the mercury in southern parts of the country set to hit 40C as high-pressure areas and a mass of hot, dry air bring temperatures more than 10C above the seasonal norm. The high temperatures come almost exactly three years after some areas of Spain experienced their hottest May since records began and the temperature at Seville airport reached 41C. 'The last week of May will see a high-temperature episode across a good part of the peninsula, with the kind of temperatures normally seen in high summer, especially from Wednesday,' said Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for Spain's meteorological office, Aemet. 'In some southern parts of the peninsula, we could see maximum temperatures of more than 40C, and the temperature won't drop below 20C in that region or in Mediterranean areas. "We're talking about maximum temperatures that are between five and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year. In some areas, the temperatures will be more than 10 degrees above normal on Thursday.' Del Campo said the high temperatures were down to the presence of high-pressure areas over the peninsula — 'which guarantee stable weather with few clouds and a lot of sun' — and the arrival of a mass of dry, warm air over the peninsula from North Africa. He added that the most affected areas would be south-east Spain, its central region, and the Ebro Valley in the north-east of the country. Outlook Temperatures on the two hottest days this week — probably Thursday and Friday — are forecast to reach 35C in central and northern areas and 40C along the Guadalquivir River in Andalucía. The hot spell is forecast to last until at least Saturday, when atmospheric instability could bring clouds, dust clouds, and a lowering of temperatures. Spain recorded its highest ever temperature in August 2021, when the mercury in the Andalucían town of Montoro, near Córdoba, reached 47.4C. A 2022 Aemet study found that the arrival of 30C temperatures across Spain and the Balearic islands had come an average of 20 to 40 days earlier over the past 71 years. 'The summer is eating up the spring,' Del Campo told El País at the time. 'What's happening fits perfectly with a situation where you have a warmer planet,' he said, adding that the rise in temperatures was a 'direct and palpable [consequence] of climate change … The climate in Spain isn't the one we used to know. It's got more extreme.' The Guardian Read More Investigation into disappearance of Fiona Pender upgraded to murder
The Star
22-05-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Spain confirms hottest 3-yr period on record
MADRID, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Spain's State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has confirmed that 2022-2024 marks the hottest three-year period ever recorded in the country. Although 2024 was slightly cooler than the previous two years, it featured three major heatwaves, 31 new high-temperature records, and longer, more intense hot spells. AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo warned of worsening nighttime heat, noting a shift from "tropical nights" above 20 degrees centigrade to "torrid nights" above 25 degrees centigrade, with some nights approaching 30 degrees centigrade. Sea temperatures also rose for the second consecutive year, contributing to extreme weather events-including the deadly Valencia storm in October, which killed 227 people and broke rainfall records. Del Campo also stressed the growing impact of persistent heatwaves on public health and climate risk.
