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Spain plans 100% tax on homes purchased by non-EU residents

Spain plans 100% tax on homes purchased by non-EU residents

Spain is planning to impose a tax of up to 100 percent on properties purchased by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK.

Announcing the measure, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the "unprecedented" measure was necessary to meet the housing emergency, the Telegraph reports.

"The West faces a crucial challenge: Not to become a society divided into two classes, wealthy landlords and poor tenants," he said.


Residents from outside EU countries will buy 27,000 properties in Spain in 2023, he told an economic forum in Madrid, "not to live" but "to make money from them".

"Which, in the context of the shortage we are in, we obviously cannot allow," he added.

Therefore, the movement was created to "promote affordable housing for residents," Sandchez emphasized.

He did not provide details on how the tax would work nor a timeline for its submission to parliament for approval, where he has often struggled to gather enough votes to pass legislation.

But his government said the proposal would be finalized "after careful study."

It is one of a dozen planned measures announced by the prime minister on Monday aimed at improving housing affordability in the country. /Telegraph/