Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has proposed an ambitious measure to tackle Spain's growing housing crisis. On the table is a new tax policy that could impose up to a 100% tax on properties purchased by non-residents from countries outside the European Union. This move primarily targets non-EU residents, including those from the United Kingdom. The announcement comes as part of a broader strategy aimed at enhancing housing affordability throughout Spain.
During an economic forum in Madrid, Prime Minister Sánchez unveiled this measure as one of a dozen initiatives designed to combat the housing emergency in the country. He stressed the urgency of addressing the housing affordability issue, as Spain grapples with a significant shortage of affordable homes. In addition to the punitive tax on non-EU buyers, the plan includes various other measures, such as providing tax exemptions for landlords who offer affordable housing and establishing a new public housing body to manage over 3,000 homes.
The initiative also targets tourist accommodations by proposing tighter regulations and higher taxes on tourist flats. Sánchez emphasized the unfairness of the current system, stating:
"It isn't fair that those who have three, four or five apartments as short-term rentals pay less tax than hotels." – Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
The prime minister highlighted that many non-EU buyers acquired properties in Spain not for living purposes but rather as investments, stating they bought them "not to live in" but "to make money from them." In 2023 alone, non-EU residents purchased 27,000 properties in Spain, contributing to the housing crunch.
However, Sánchez faces challenges in realizing these plans, as he struggles to secure enough parliamentary support to pass the necessary legislation. While the prime minister described the proposed tax as "unprecedented," details about its implementation and the timeline for presenting it to parliament remain unclear.
Sánchez's measures aim to balance the scales in the rental market, as he noted:
"Which, in the context of shortage that we are in, [we] obviously cannot allow." – Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez