March 3rd to the 5th we will be at the A Place In The Sun exhibition at the Manchester Central

Our specialists and professionals from Lifestyle Spain will be joining up with the our team in the UK to meet the many people at the event who are interested in making Spain their home or holiday home.

On hand daily throughout the event will be some of our visa and residency experts, financial and tax consultants, and our lawyer, to answer any questions relating to buying a property, conveyancing, visas, residency, tax or anything else you can think of related to owning a property as a resident or non resident in Spain.

At the Lifestyle Services Spain stand you will be able to;

• Tap into the collective knowledge and experience of our specialists
• Speak to our experts about the non-lucrative and ‘Golden Visa’ and arrange a free review and assessment.
• Chat to a Spanish Lawyer about buying a property in Spain or anything else legal.
• Discuss planning for Spanish tax residency with our consultants and book a free consultation
• Find out why for so many we are the first and only choice for services when buying property, moving to or living in Spain.

We’ll be holding prize draws everyday with lots of fantastic giveaways.  So come and see us on stand B3 and don’t forget to like and follow our Facebook page so that you don’t miss out on any updates about the show or announcements.

https://www.facebook.com/overseaslifestyleservices

Lifestyle Services Spain

➢ Number One and first choice
➢ Highly experienced & professional
➢ Fully staffed offices in the UK & Spain
➢ Provider of Spanish residency services since 2010
➢ Member of the British Chamber of Commerce Spain

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Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa is now available following the passing of the new Startups Law, ‘Ley de Startups‘. This visa which allows the holder to live in Spain and work remotely or online, can be applied directly in Spain, or via the Spanish Consulate in the country in which you currently reside.

Andalucía has become one the top 3 regions in Spain with the least taxes.  On the 21st September 2021, the regional president, Juanma Moreno, announced the scrapping of Wealth Tax in Andalucía.

The tax has accounted for just 0.6% of income for the regional government (€95m annually), and Moreno believes the change will have a very positive impact on increasing revenue by attracting investment.

A large number of the highest wealth tax payers left Andalucía in 2020, resulting in a loss of income of estimated at around €18m (€3.5 million euros in wealth tax and €14 million in personal income tax).

The president is hoping that removing Wealth Tax will encourage people with high income who spend long periods in Andalucía, but are not tax resident, to make it the region their permanent home and pay tax there.

Moreno’s estimate is that the tax reduction will attract 7,000 new residents, the result being that the 0.6% of income lost will be far exceeded, through income tax and other indirect taxes collected.

As wealth tax hasn’t been abolished, the annual tax return still has to be done according if, according to the law, ‘ . . . the value of their assets or rights, determined in accordance with the tax regulations, is greater than €2,000,000 euros.’  However 100% tax relief will be being granted to zero the liability.

New ‘Large Fortune’ Tax Proposed

The good news of Andalucía’s Wealth Tax reform, was shortly muted by news that the Spanish government plans to impose a temporary national ‘tax on large fortunes’.  The tax is yet to be approved by parliament, but is is expected to be implemented for 2023 and 2024 and will affect individuals with net wealth above €3 million.

Since wealth tax is collected by the regional Government, it was confirmed that any wealth tax paid would be offset against any ‘large fortune tax’ bill.  As Andalucía now give 100% wealth tax relief, residents in Andalucia won’t have to pay wealth tax, however if their net assets equal €3 million or more, they would have to pay the ‘large fortune tax’.

The proposed rates are as follows:

• 0% up to €3 million of net wealth
• 1.7% between €3 million and €5 million of net wealth
• 2.1% between €5 million and € million of net wealth
• 3.5% for a net wealth of over €10 million

According to the information provided by the Spanish Ministry of Finance, the tax on ‘large fortunes’ tax will affect 23,000 taxpayers and raise €1.5 billion in revenue, which will be used to finance policies to support the most vulnerable who are affected by the recent steep rises in cost of living.

The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa offers residency to British nationals who have the financial means to support themselves without working.  The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa scheme is therefore ideal if you are retired or have passive income, for example from a portfolio of properties or other investments.  The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is for full-time residency in Spain.

What does the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa Offer UK British Nationals?

UPDATE: 30th May

Services seem to be back to normal

UPDATE: 20th May

Still no appointments available on the London Consulate booking system.

Manchester and Edinburgh responding to requests in a few days and offering appointments around 2 to 3 weeks ahead.

UPDATE: 10th May

There are still no appointments available on the London Consulate booking system.

Manchester are now replying a lot faster to requests for appointments.

The UK is no longer in the EU and the process and costs to register a UK car in Spain after Brexit have changed considerably.

This is because UK cars now are now treated as vehicles from third countries and must either clear customs, or get a customs certificate if your car qualifies for customs exemption.

The process you follow will depend on your situation as will the cost.  You’ll need to budget for costs of around €1,000 with taxes as applicable on top.

Importing a high value car from the UK in Spain post Brexit, now comes with added costs.  As the UK is no longer in the EU and the standard process to import and register a UK car in Spain now involves customs.

This means on top of the registration tax which in most cases will be 17% of the vehicle value, 10% customs duty and 21% VAT will apply, unless you can find away around it.

Paying nearly £50k to register a £100k motor is simply not a consideration.  There are however various ways these huge costs can be avoided, bringing the cost of importing and registering high value cars in Spain down to a few thousand Euros, rather than tens of thousands.

The TIE, Tarjeta de Indentidad de Extranjero, is the Spanish identification card for citizens from third countries (non-EU) who reside in Spain.  The Withdrawal Agreement TIE is a special version of this card, issued to British UK nationals who have retained EU rights under the terms of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

The qualifying requirements for applicants e.g. for proof of means remain the same as they were when the UK was in the EU.  British UK nationals living in Spain who had not obtained a residency certificate, had until the 31st December 2020 to apply for the the Withdrawal Agreement TIE.

You can now only apply for the Withdrawal Agreement TIE in these circumstances:

As of 1st January 2021 the United Kingdom was no longer a member of the European Union.  The transition period to negotiate future arrangements between EU and the UK ended on 31st December 2020, with a deal of sorts finally agreed at the last minute.

As of the end of the transition period, privileges enjoyed under EU freedom of movement came to an end.  British UK Nationals and their non-EU family members will be subject to all Spanish immigration rules for third-country (non-EU) nationals.

However, UK nationals and their family members who took up residency in Spain and other EU Member State before the end of the transition period in accordance with EU free movement law, will maintain their free movements rights after 31st December 2020.

Christmas Eve marked the moment the UK finally reached a Brexit agreement with the EU, full details of which have now been published.  The so called ‘Free Trade Agreement: a new economic and social partnership with the United Kingdom’, is of most interest to UK nationals living in Spain and other EU countries, those planning to and those with other interests such as business or a holiday home.

The agreement covers not just trade in goods and services, but also a broad range of other areas such as, tax transparency, air and road transport, energy and sustainability, fisheries, data protection, and social security coordination.

Notable points for UK nationals in Spain or other EU countries in the agreement are that: