Many UK residents want to enjoy their holidays abroad, and for a long time, it was affordable to buy a small apartment or holiday home in a southern European country. However, because there are so many foreign people who buy houses in countries like Spain, Greece, France and Portugal, the local population has trouble finding affordable housing or even finding rentals! This is why these European countries have started to target foreign, including British holiday home purchases with hefty taxes. Keep reading to discover more!
Spain leads the pack with a 100-property tax suggestion on Holiday homes!
The Spanish government is seriously considering a new taxation plan for foreign investors. They want to raise the property tax to 100% if you are a non-EU resident, which means that you’re in the country for less than 183 days per year. This would heavily impact foreigners who want to invest in summer houses in these warmer countries.
By doing this, the Spanish government wants to give locals a fair opportunity to buy property in their own country without having to pay insanely high prices driven by foreign investors. The plan will raise the taxes for foreign people to try to prevent them from buying homes. At the same time, landlords will be incentivized to provide affordable rentals for locals by gaining some benefits!
Other EU countries are following Spain’s lead
Other popular countries for summer houses, such as France, Greece, and Portugal, are also following Spain’s lead. Each of these countries is planning to raise the taxes on properties and implement restrictions on non-EU-residents, including British Citizens! However, these countries have not yet specified what these new changes will be.
Most of the other countries have a lot of vacant homes that are used for short-term rentals like Airbnb and take away the chance for locals to ever own a home. In Greece, Protesters in Athens voiced their anger about locals losing homes to tourism-driven market pressures. Even though these regions heavily rely on tourism, the current housing market makes it impossible for locals to survive!
