Income tax deductibility for non-residents renting property in Spain will be abolished if that option is adopted by the EU!
In response to claims that Spain has engaged in discrimination against expats who rent their homes, the European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against the country. In the current circumstances, non-EU residents in Spain are unable to take advantage of the 60% tax reduction on rental income when they are renting a residence due to the relevant conditions imposed by the Income Tax for Non-residents (Impuesto sobre la Renta de los No Residentes or IRNR). Spanish taxpayers claim to be cheated by the fact that the tax return for rental income in Spain is actually a benefit they receive. qatar selling
The member of the law firm Ático Jurídico,
José María Salcedo, has assured us that this is a distinction that makes no
sense and is unfair between Spanish residents and non-residents living in the
country: Resident residents of Spain who receive income from renting out
property in Spain are given a better tax treatment than non-residents who
receive the same income.
the treatment of each country differs, and
this constitutes an obstacle to the free movement of capital in the EU (TFEU).
Non-residents have found it more difficult to use tax loopholes because of the
new rules set forth by the EU. An appeal to the European Court of Justice would
be followed by penalties (ECJ).
The EU infringement procedure has three
stages: identification, analysis, and resolution.
Only a letter of formal notice has been
sent to Spain, giving it two months to reply to the infringement allegations.
Europe is likely to send a reasoned opinion explaining why it believes Spanish
law is in violation of EU law if Spain fails to provide a compelling response.
Jose María Salcedo has mentioned that at that time, a formal request will be
made for Spain to comply with EU Law, giving Spain a two-month window
(normally) to report on the measures it has taken.
Brussels will likely file Spain before the
ECJ in a legal trial if it decides to disregard this warning.
In the meantime, what should non-residents
do?
He assures us that this process is set to open
the doors for non-residents of Spain to request corrections of their
self-assessments. "Additionally, prior to granting the right to request
such rectification, the TEAC is concerned with granting tax reduction even if
it was not included in their tax assessment at the time it was declared,"
states the lawyer, who notes that the TEAC criterion is to allow non-residents
to request tax reduction even if it was not present in their tax assessment at
the time it was announced. Non-residents of the EU are only allowed to claim
these tax returns if the Hacienda Treasury has not started income verification
checks that target declared income from the rental.
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