Editorial:
Spain has more to it than tourism. It has residents. We buy a house, a car, we shop all year long and we support local restaurants. Each one of us must put the equivalent of several hundred tourists' wallets into the community each year. We have no champion, we rarely have a town hall department (a few Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca exceptions exist), there's no ministry and of course there's no budget for attracting and supporting wealthy home-buyers who will live from income coming from their home countries.
Apart from pretending Helen and Len Prior don't exist, there is no official interest in this hugely beneficial collective. They don't even know or care how many we are. Yet we do more for our towns than the hotels – those that have them – and the three-month tripper season (now at an end). We maintain our communities: we paint, plant and water them (instead of being sick all over the flower gardens). We are given no jobs, no representation, no respect. Local elections are next May: if you can, get on the 'padrón' and be sure you are registered to vote.
Housing:
'The number of overseas property deals closed by British citizens jumped 56 per cent in the last year, according to currency exchange specialist Currencies Direct. As always, Spain was the top destination for the UK buyers, registering an 84 per cent increase from a year earlier. The value of the Spanish transactions rose 94 per cent, the currency exchange company said. Of course, it’s important to note that any increases are based on the historic recent lows, so improvement is easy. Nevertheless, the currency exchange agency’s data is one more indicator that British buyers are once again active in Spain’s second home market.
The total value of money sent overseas by Brits – which including mortgage payments, “outright purchases and other associated costs” – has risen by 59 per cent, “suggesting that buyers are seeking out ever more expensive pieds a terre,” the company says...'. Found at Mark Stücklin's Spanish Property Insight.
'Real estate values in Spain have increased by around 1% and the percentage of overseas buyers has risen to a record 13.03%, according to the Association of Registrars, Spanish house prices are rising for the first time in six years – just as the ratio of purchases by overseas property buyers hits a new record, new figures show...'. From OPP Connect.
Goldman Sachs and Blackstone have become landlords in Madrid, they both oversee run-down housing estates in poor parts of the capital. But, let's be bullish: '...As a macro bet on the Spanish economy, Goldman’s and Blackstone’s timing was prescient. In the third quarter of 2013, the Spanish economy grew – slightly – for the first time in two and a half years. In the second quarter of this year, gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent, its best performance since the last quarter of 2007. Retail sales finally began picking up in April.
The government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who leads the conservative People’s Party, forecasts the economy will grow 1.5 percent this year and 2 percent in 2015. After coming to power in 2011, Rajoy implemented the toughest austerity measures in more than 30 years, cutting spending on education and health care and freezing public-sector pay. He has pledged to trim the budget deficit to 5.5 percent of GDP this year from 7.1 percent in 2013...'. From Bloomberg.
La Información says that there are 583,000 empty new city apartments for sale in Spain.
Tourism:
'Benidorm has once again come out tops as the fastest growing destination among British holidaymakers wanting to get away for their summer break. This is reflected in a study by the Spain Tourist Board of all major booking portals. In figures released last week they say that the number of UK tourists heading for Benidorm during the month of August increased by 164% whilst there was a general decline in those bound for other destinations...'. From The Leader. Contradicting the positive reports from the Spanish tourist authorities, the article notes that: '...Spending by UK residents while on overseas visits has dipped 16% in the first six months of 2014 compared with the same period last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced...'.
The Camino del Rey, that dangerous path halfway up a mountain above el Desfiladero de los Gaitanes in Málaga, will be open from the new year. See the story and video here.
Finance:
'Jobless figures broke a six-month streak and went up again in August. The unemployment services registered 8,070 new jobless claims, to reach a total of 4,427,930 people, according to the Labour Ministry. August also saw 97,582 fewer contributors to the Social Security system, a fact that can be explained by seasonal factors, given that many temporary education and health contracts came to an end last month...'. From El País in English.
Tax:
'A tax form has never been so questioned before – the 'model 720' having to declare as 'information' taxpayers who have assets abroad exceeding 50,000 euros in value. According to Hacienda, 131,411 contributors presented this statement in 2012...'. (probably mostly foreigners). The article in El Confidencial, more upset about Jordi Pujol than the problems of the ordinary taxpayer, continues '...the European Commission is currently debating whether to open an infringement procedure against Spain forcing Hacienda to eliminate this disclosure obligation or, at least, to limit its scope to make it compatible with Community Law...'. The ruling should be released this week.
The Court of European Justice ruled on Wednesday that Spain's inheritance tax was unlawful since it does not allow non-residents to take advantage of fiscal advantages offered by different regions and also, that Spanish legislation puts illegal restrictions on the free circulation of Capital. The Spanish Government has agreed to find ways to revise the law on these points. From Reuters (in Spanish) here.
According to the spokesperson for Intermon-Oxfam, 'the fight against tax-fraud does not go against 'the great fortunes' due to a lack of political bravery'. The interview here.
Politics:
'Suddenly, Spain's government has decided that its priority for the coming months is what it describes as 'democratic regeneration'. These are words that few have ever associated with the Partido Popular and Mariano Rajoy but there's no need to worry; Spain's right wing hasn't suddenly caught the democracy 'bug'. The weight of that long political tradition is still sufficient to ensure that the PP regards anything smacking of greater democracy as something to be avoided at all costs.
Instead we are getting a response to the dismal results that Spain's two main political parties obtained in May's elections for the European Parliament. 2015 is a big election year in Spain, if everything is scheduled as expected the country will have municipal and regional elections followed a few months later by a general election. The shock of the European elections was twofold, firstly because support for the two main parties combined fell just short of 50% of the vote, and secondly because of the surprise emergence of Podemos as a potential threat to that two party hegemony...'. From South of Watford.
Vozpópuli finds some thirty very unhappy PP mayors across Andalucía, who would lose their jobs with Rajoy's reform. However, the pro-independence groups in Catalonia and the Basque Country would do well with Rajoy's gerrymandering, according to El Mundo, with Catalonia separatist groups taking 80% of the region, while something similar would occur in Euskadi. As a Reader says to me, they are looking for Caudillos instead of mayors. Another friend commented that it makes sense for Rajoy, since 'the derecha is all together in one party, while, as they well know, the izquierda is divided into various groups'. Lastly on this subject, 'Pedro Jota' (the departed director of El Mundo) says he would encourage citizens to boycott any election which 'supposed the direct placing of mayors'.
Are there too many public figures enjoying immunity in Spain? Goodness, yes. The Minister of Justice wants to reduce the number – at 17,621 (or 280,159 if you include the security forces partial immunity), to a more manageable (and popular) 22. More here and here.
How well are we governed? The European Quality of Government Index measures Spain (scores 13 out of Europe's 27) and the autonomies (País Vasco is the best governed; Andalucía and Catalonia are the worst). Found at El Diario.
Not following Government lines in emergencies can work out costly for the media, with proposed fines of up to 600,000 euros for misreporting official communications on certain alerts. Just part of the new Ley del Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil as found here.
A survey published on Sunday by El Mundo on voting intentions, has the brand-new Podemos party nudging the heels of the PSOE and the PP leading with just 30% (down from the last General Elections in 2011 when the PP had 44.6%. The PSOE is now at 22.3% and Podemos at 21.2%. The IU stands at just 4.1%.
The PSOE fight back. Here's a short video of Pedro Sánchez, the new leader of the PSOE promising that 'he who becomes wealthy thanks to a job in the public sector will not only be punished by the weight of the law, but he will also be obliged to pay everything back to the State'. Brave words...
Courts
'A Spanish lawyer is hoping to indict the French banking magnate Baron Rothschild.
Antonio Flores, of Marbella-based Lawbird Legal Services, has formally requested for the court to charge and summon Baron David de Rothschild, the chairman of Swiss holding company, Rothschild Continuation Holdings. There are currently two ongoing cases against N.M. Rothschild & Sons, one criminal in a court in Alicante for fraud and fraudulent advertising, and one civil in Málaga for misleading advertising. Lawbird is representing 15 ex-pat couples in their action against the multinational investment banking company, after allegedly being mis-sold €4 million worth of fraudulent equity release...'. Report found at The Olive Press.
Various:
Across the World, Spanish is spoken, by numbers of inhabitants, in Mexico, USA, Colombia, and in fourth place, Spain...
'Spain is among the European countries hardest hit by the so-called 'brain drain' effect with thousands of professionals including nurses and teachers taking steps to leave the country in recent years, new figures from the European Union show.
One of the most damaging aspects of Spain's economic crisis has been the departure from the country of university graduates and highly skilled professionals...'. From The Reader.
Some Spaniards are joining foreign wars, either for adventure or for religion. Here are two articles: 'Why one Spaniard sold his car to go fight in Ukraine' from The Washington Post and another: 'Interior Ministry confirms that 51 Spaniards are fighting with the Islamic jihad' in either Iraq or Syria. Story from El País.
El Mundo asks if citizens would pick up their arms and defend Spain from a foreign invasion (From who, guys?). Only 16% of Spaniards would heed the call, laments the newspaper here. The least nationalist bits of Spain, according to a CIS survey just released, is Catalonia and the Basque Country. The most jingoist: Melilla and Ceuta.
'The consumer Organisation FACUA has published a list of maximum ITV rates, noting the differences between 2013 and 2014. It appears that prices vary widely according to one's address, with up to 113% difference for cars, and up to 202% for small motorcycles.
Bad luck if you live in the Castilla y Leon region, as prices are highest there, followed by Extremadura for cars with catalytic converter and Madrid for cars that run on diesel...'. From Citizens' Advice.
Ballena Blanca shows a video (in Spanish) about clandestine solar energy. They explain: 'In one of Europe's countries with the most sun, the Government of Spain makes every effort to penalize the consumption of electricity with photovoltaic panels. The current bizarre legislation has stopped dead the expectations of the solar market. But rebel citizens have opted for going underground, despite fines of anything up to 60 million. In this video we get on the roof of three clandestine solar energy users, Montse, Wouter and Roger: "Who is frightened of us using the Sun?"...'.
'Take a Spanish region that’s the size of Belgium yet still undiscovered by the Brits and even overlooked by most Spaniards. Fill it with fairytale towns and villages, three UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a National Park. Top it off with the best ham in the world, no arguments allowed from Italy! This isn’t a figment of some estate agent’s wild imagination or a tour operator’s over-the-top brochure; it’s just Extremadura, where I’ve made my home these last fifteen years...'. Article from Matthew Stewart at Notes from Spain.
Letters
Another British couple have lost their house in Spain. Here's part of a letter Paul Fear wrote: 'My wife and I have now moved back to the UK locked up the house and abandoned it, we could not sell the house because Tarbena town hall refused to give us cedula de habilidad. The whole thing seems very unjust the town hall architect has his own interpretation of LOTUP even though the regional government of Alicante has yet to interpret the LOTUP law. I don't know if there is a date for when LOTUP will be put into effect in Alicante or whether it will benefit us. My wife and I are just two more victims of Spain's crazy planning laws we have lost everything, and we do not have the money for solicitors to fight our case. If you would like me to campaign here in the UK on behalf of other victims of Spain's planning laws I will be glad to do so. I can contact my local MP and write letters to local newspapers highlighting the problems faced by ex-pats in Spain. It seems to me the British government has done little to help UK citizens in Spain. I personally believe a UK tax should be levied on all flights from the UK to Valencia or Andalucía and the revenue raised should be used to compensate victims of Spanish property scandals. This would probably be against EU trade laws but so is swindling EU citizens out of their life savings and ignoring their human rights...'. Remember that each autonomous region has its own planning laws.
Finally:
Well, you'll never sell your home looking like that. 26 photos of what not to put online...
Si (
No(
