New tax legislation has come into place which will affect (tax) residents in Spain. Essentially, this will introduce an obligation to report assets located abroad and whose value exceeds € 50,000 on December 31 each year. The new legislation applies to all natural and legal individuals, resident in Spanish territory. We advise property owners who reside in Andalusia to contact their fiscal adviser to review the consequences for their particular situation.
While in the future the declaration will have to be filed between January 1st to March 31st, the 2012 declaration must be submitted between the 1st February to the 30th April 2013, in accordance with the Royal Decree 1715 / 2012, of the 28th December 2012. Part of the new legislation allows for better coordination in obtaining information about tax obligation on EU Member States. The reporting obligation however extends beyond the EU territory.
What goods and rights must be declared?
According to the rules, we can make the following classification:
- Accounts in financial institutions located abroad, when the individual holds the ownership or those provided as representatives, authorised or beneficiaries, or those with powers of disposition.
- Certain assets, such as securities, rights, insurance and annuities deposited, managed or obtained abroad.
- Real estate and property rights located abroad.
What would be the applicable penalties be in case this annual statement is not filed?According to paragraph 2 of the Eighteenth Additional Provision of Law 7/2012, of October 29, the consideration of the offense is very serious and is punishable in accordance with the following rules:
- The penalty consists of a 5,000 Euros fine per item or set of data on the same account, asset or Real Estate property, which should have been included in the statement or had been provided incomplete, inaccurate or false, with a minimum of 10,000 Euros.
- The penalty shall be 100 EUR per item or set of data on the same account, asset or liability or property with a minimum of 1,500 Euros, when the declaration was filed after the deadline without prior notification from the Tax Office. Likewise, if the filing of the anual statement is not done electronically via the internet or via written communication it would also be sanctionable.
How to proceed to file the statement
Though it seems quite appropriate to anticipate these measures, today we continue to wait for the publication of the Ministerial Ordinance that would approve the model and specify the content of this statement. Therefore, we advise you to consult your fiscal advisor.
The information in this article is retrieved from Lexland Abogados Marbella Newsletter.
Energy Labels for existing houses
Another change in legislation for all home owners in Spain, resident or not, is the obligation to provide an energy label when selling or renting your property. We already anounced this new regulation in our blog article Energy labels obligatory for country property. As from the 1st of April 2013 this seems to be applicable.
Oscar Ernstsen | 19th February 2013