| Dear Olive Press readers, | | Tis the end of 2025 and we’ve recently hit an important milestone at the good ship Olive Press. | | Our healthy and sometimes febrile Facebook page has topped 50,000 followers for the first time. | | This is a place where it’s never boring and always fun to drop in on, where you can get a feel for the pulse of the expat community in Spain. | | Most of the credit must go to our largely unsung social media manager, Alicia Kirk, who only came on board last March - when we had been stuck on 33,000 followers for years. |  | | Olive Press Social Media Manager, Alicia Kirk | | Since then, thanks to her hard work the numbers have been climbing steadily and relentlessly and we don’t expect this growth to slow down any time soon (in fact already on 50,231). | | Social media, including video content, is a target area for growth next year, as well as capturing the attention of the yoof with a sparkling TikTok account. Watch this space. | | I don’t know if it’s the season for it but Spain’s unloved tax agency (the Hacienda) has been in the news cycle a lot recently. First of all – it’s set to gain sweeping new powers to spy on your bank account for next year, so something to keep in mind for some of you. One Brit entrepreneur advises against going autonomo, as the Hacienda will even be inspecting your Bizum payments. And most Spaniards themselves have been vociferous in their support of Britain’s Financial Times and the newspaper’s assault on their own tax collector. | | Spain’s billionaire class was in the news this week after Forbes updated their rich list. The complement of billionaires has grown 25% this year to 32 – but how many of them actually created the €182.59 billion they’re collectively worth, rather than inheriting it? Not many of them, apparently. Most are simply ‘nepo-billionaires’, which isn’t a great look. | | The squatter situation in Spain, long a problem and in fact a nightmare for many expats, is just getting worse and worse. The issue is starting to impact on the housing market in Catalunya, where owners prefer to sell up rather than risk getting squatted. Some of the individual incidents are so egregious they’re barely believable – with even wealthy families taking over private properties and others renting out properties they’ve squatted themselves. In fact we even did a round-up of five squatter stories to make your blood boil, if you can stomach it. But there might be light at the end of the tunnel – the Marbella Policia Local have given useful tips on what to do if one day you do find strangers living in your home. | | Finally, and on an even darker note, the developments in a police operation against a pair of brothels that enslaved trafficked women in Malaga and Cartama has revealed a network of respectable white-collar professionals who enabled it all. We’re talking bank directors, lawyers, notaries – and even a former PP councillor – who supplied their professional skills to help the pimps and thugs launder the profits and disguise the business. | | Enjoy the weekend and Merry Christmas, folks. And please do get in touch with any thoughts or comments you might have! | | | | | | | Edificio Centro Comercial El Duque, first floor, Carretera N340, km 144.5 | | San Luis de Sabinillas, Malaga 29692, Spain | | Copyright © 2025 The Olive Press, All rights reserved. | | | |
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