Rob HorganSPANIARDS are choosing not to accept inherited property because they cannot afford to pay the tax for ownership.
The number of Spaniards refusing to inherit property has more than doubled in the last five years, according to new research.
Depending on the relation to the deceased, the heir must pay between 9% and 35% of a property’s value to keep it.
The closer you are the less you pay, so while a cousin or distant relative would have to fork out 30% of the estate’s value, a direct heir under the age of 21 pay only 9%.
The government has issued a fixed set of rates but these can be modified by autonomous communities.
Despite measures in place to help lessen the impact, such as paying in installments or applying for a home equity loan, the cost is huge.
A house valued at €200,000 will cost a child €18,000 to inherit.
For the same house a child over 21 or a spouse would have to pay €26,000 (13%) whereas for a sibling or aunt or nephew it would be €44,000 (22%).
A legalised extortion racket.
More daft autonomous region laws from Spain. They need to reform the entire system, indeed entire country lol.
Will probably add even more properties to Spain’s already large glut.
When will they learn that extortionate taxes strangle the economy and growth.
Just loved being told Benalmadena Plus Valia was the highest in Spain and had increased from 7K to 40K the week I managed to sell my godforsaken house. My lawyer just advised me to buy only inland, and stay off the coast for future reference. I did. My IBI has dropped from 7K PA for a 300m2 house to 320 euros PA for a 273m2 house. Result.
All inheritance taxes are nothing but legalised theft.
It is a disgrace wherever it happens, Spain, the UK or elsewhere.
Isn’t it inland where all the illegal houses are.
Never heard anyone have an IBI bill of 7000, even in Marbella or Sotogrande.
Never been any illegal houses in Marbella, have there Marion?
Yes, but most have now been legalised. Not so the 30,000 or so in eg. Axarquia. Then there is Almeria!
Buildings in Marbella weren’t legalised because they deserved to be, far from it. If all the bent construction had been removed, the place would be back to a fishing village.
Money doesn’t talk, it swears.
I did hear about some illegal houses in Marbella but not sure what the outcome was. Still going on in the Axarquia and Almeria where they have now set a date to demolish two more British owned houses (leaving the owners homeless) on 18 November at noon.
Actually Marion’s point shows just how ludicrously Spain is run. Marbella can legalise the irregular properties, but other areas cannot. How ridiculously unjust is that?
Not all of the places in Marbella have been legalised btw Marion, for example Banana Beach (should be Banana Republic Beach).