Sanchez (pictured) launched the crackdown after a series of recent anti-tourism protests. (Image: Getty)
Opponents of Pedro Sanchez’s proposed tax raid on non–homeowners have vowed not to apply the levy in the regions where they govern, with one opposition figure claiming it is “xenophobic”, according to reports.
It comes after the Prime Minister declared this week that non-resident citizens from countries outside the including the UK, .
In recent months, authorities have come under growing pressure from residents of hotspots, which have seen large-scale protests over the impact of overtourism and soaring housing costs.
Sanchez’s Socialist government has responded with a proposal for a series of measures aimed at reducing living and housing costs for citizens.
This includes the new tax it is pushing for, announced on Monday, which could see paying twice as much, El Econimista reports.
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A large-scale anti-tourism protest in Tenerife last year. (Image: Getty)
But Luis de la Matta, director of communications of the People’s Party (PP), said they are firmly against the move, arguing: “The problem is not that people want to live in , the problem is that there is a lack of housing.”
“We are not going to facilitate a xenophobic measure”, he added, as per
The PP governs in most of the regions popular with second home buyers from Britain and Latin America, as per the news agency.
These include top destinations among sunseekers like Andalusia, Valencia, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
The Spanish government says the tax would limit the purchase of homes by non-EU residents by hiking the levy they have to pay by as much as 100% of the property’s value.
A Housing Ministry source told Reuters that it would be applied through the Property Transfer Tax (ITP) with as many 26,000 second-hand properties in large cities and coastal areas popular with tourists affected.
[REPORT]
Sanchez said the housing issues Spain faces are a ‘decisive challenge’ (Image: Getty)
Non-Spaniards including citizens of bloc countries bought 24,700 properties in Spain in the third quarter of last year, the said, referencing data provided by the Association of Registrars.
This accounted for 15% of all real estate purchases in the country, with the largest group of non-Spanish buyers being Britons, (8.5%).
Antonio de la Fuente, managing director at Colliers International Spain, said he didn’t think a 100% levy would fix the housing issues.
“We all agree we are in a problem of not enough supply and we need to produce new supply to give people migrating from other parts of Spain to big cities like Madrid, Valencia, [and] Malaga a new home,” he told .
“But this will be a drop in the ocean in my opinion and there will be other alternatives that will have a higher impact on the housing market.”
Sánchez said the “unprecedented” measure,was necessary to tackle the housing emergency, saying, “The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants,” as per .
Other measures Sánchez proposed include raising taxes on Airbnb-style holiday rentals; transferring over 3,000 homes to a new public housing body; and a programme to refurbish vacant housing, the FT reports.
He also suggested public guarantees for landlords providing rentals deemed “affordable”.
However, because of Spain’s deeply divided government, its far from certain the tax proposal will become law, with Sanchez often struggling to gather enough votes to pass legislation.