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The Spanish Prime Minister proposes a 100% tax on houses bought by foreigners

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday proposed a series of measures to combat the country’s housing crisis, including a 100% tax on home purchases by non-resident non-EU foreigners.

Sánchez said the measure would impose a 100% tax rate on the value of the property for non-EU citizens not living in Spain when they buy a home in Spain, in order to “prioritize” housing for residents and the ‘speculative tourist use of property.”

Sánchez told an economic forum in Madrid that the “unprecedented” measure for Spain, but already in force in countries such as Canada and Denmark, was “appropriate and very necessary” in light of the current housing crisis.

“In 2023 alone, non-EU residents bought around 27,000 houses and flats in Spain. Not to live in it, not to let their relatives live in it; they did it mainly to speculate, to make money,” Sánchez said.

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This, he added, cannot be ‘allowed’ in a context of housing shortage, claiming that the Spanish government welcomes foreign investment if it is ‘productive’, and not if it is speculative.

The Prime Minister also said he would propose taxing tourist accommodation “as it is: a business”.

The measures were part of a broader package to tackle Spain’s housing crisis, which Sánchez presented on Monday. They also include the transfer of more than 3,300 homes to a new social housing company and state support for young tenants.

In recent months there have been demonstrations for affordable housing, as well as protests against high rents and the impact of mass tourism across Spain.

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