Brits have flocked to the likes of Benidorm for years but there are now concerns about tax demands (Image: Alamy Stock Photo)
Spain has become a “tax trap” for Britons who are being “fleeced” by the authorities, a law firm has warned. Scores of foreign residents who moved to the sun-kissed country are allegedly facing “punitive tax claims”.
International lawyer Robert Amsterdam has launched the “Spanish Tax Pickpockets” campaign which has taken large advertisements in some of the world’s leading newspapers.
He says his firm has been “inundated” with people who are “facing ruin”.
The country was a magnet for affluent foreigners due to the so-called “Beckham Law” – named after David Beckham who played for Real Madrid from 2003 to 2007 – which allowed ex-pats to be taxed at 24% on the first €600,000 of their Spanish-sourced income.
Mr Amsterdam claims that individuals who benefited from the initial scheme have faced “relentless tax probes” and been told they cannot appeal tax demands unless they first pay the amount they are said to owe.
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The row is the latest flare-up to challenge Spain’s reputation as ideal destination for Britons in search of blue skies and a more relaxed way of life.
Spain again made headlines last month when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced plans for a tax of up to 100% on properties bought by non-residents from outside the EU.
Mr Amsterdam said: “We have heard from many victims in Spain who say that they have had their Beckham Law status withdrawn without explanation and then have been retroactively charged with back taxes to said periods, which is completely outside the semblance of rule of law. These same victims say that in order to prove their standing, they are buried in arbitrary, contradictory paperwork and drawn in long and expensive legal cases to challenge the tax authority.
“By the time they get to the end of it, for some, it is already too late – they’ve lost everything.”
The lawyer argues this is “inconsistent with fundamental European law and human rights”.
“The solution is not to crack down on those who accepted Spain’s invitation but to address the underlying corruption and greed within the tax administration itself,” he said. “Spain’s profit-driven enforcement mechanism must be dismantled, and its pay-to-appeal policy reformed.”
Britain’s love affair with Spain was dramatised in the Johnny Vegas sitcom Benidorm, which featured a host of characters who return to a resort each year. More than 17million UK tourists visited Spain in 2023 – more than from any other country, according to the Madrid-based tourism trade fair Fitur.
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But an advertisement by the Spanish Tax Pickpockets campaign in the Wall Street Journal states that foreign employees who came to Spain have been “subjected to a tax inquisition that has left them distressed and bitterly disappointed”.
It adds: “Victims are subjected to a draconian process which is an international outlier: often denied any explanation of why they are being audited and any right to challenge investigations until just before they conclude.”
The Spanish Government was invited to comment.