Little beach in Majorca

Making a resident tax declaration

If you live in Spain for more than 183 days then you are a resident. Those days do not have to be sequential, so it doesn’t count if you pop back to your home country for a few days and then return.  It’s how many days you spend in Spain over the course of the whole year that counts.

As a resident you should be aware that the vast majority are required to make a resident tax declaration. Although some other conditions do apply, this generally includes a pensioner receiving a pension from abroad that totals more than 11,200€ a year. It also applies to you if you are an early retiree and have an income through interest of more than 1,600€ or an income through renting of more than 1,000€ a year.

Even if you don’t come into one of these two groups, and most people do, we still recommend that you make a resident tax declaration. It provides evidence of your income in Spain and can be used to prove your fiscal residency.

abacoadvisers.com

Keeping an eye on your home

Security cameras have revolutionised the way we can look after our streets in towns and cities. For example, in Torrevieja, surveillance throughout the town means that offences can be identified and evidenced more easily.

Now, our associates EasySpain have found a security company that can provide you with the same level of monitoring of your home, wherever you happen to be in the world.

Through remote video control, they can help you be Big Brother for your property and make sure that any security breach is responded to.

To find out more:

easyspain.com

What happened in the elections?

You may or may not be aware that on the 24th May, Spain held its local and regional elections. The results meant that in many towns and regions the PP (centre right) no longer have a clear majority.

Overall, they have lost out to smaller parties such as Podemos (anti-austerity) and Ciudadanos (centre right). The result is a more fragmented balance of councillors in the town halls.

Now parties will spend the next couple of weeks negotiating pacts between them to try and create a majority in order to take forward the town or region into the next stage of its development.

It will certainly be an interesting period for Spain. If you would like more information El Pais in English and the Guardian have run a number of interesting articles about the political climate:

elpais.com (in English)

theguardian.com

Spanish News Today also have a more detailed write up of the results in different regions:

spanishnewstoday.com

Nervous about buying a used car?

This might help. It’s been advertised in Money Saver Spain, that you can pay 9.99 euros for a report into a second hand car. All you need is the chassis number and they can supply you with its age, results of TV inspections, number of owners and kilometre reading.

Buying a used car can be a worry at the best of times and even more so if you’re in a foreign country. This just might help to reassure you.

https://www.carfax.es

Don’t forget though that when you have checked out the car it is also very important that you get a gestoria to organise the signing over of the car legally to you.

Who can vote to stay in the EU?

It might not be planned until 2017 but this vote could be a very important one for those travelling across Europe and, of course, those living in another country like Spain.

Discussion is going on about who will be entitled to vote. Those nationals living in the UK will automatically be included. For others it looks like those eligible include:

• Those who have gone to live in another country in the EU less than 15 years ago
• Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK
• Voters in Gibraltar

Those who won’t be eligible include:

• Those living in another EU country for more than 15 years
• EU nationals resident in the UK

The EU Referendum Bill was officially announced after the Queen’s speech on Wednesday.

For more information:

thelocal.es

10 things to get used to in Spain

Yes, top tens are making a return in this issue of the newsletter. This time, ‘‘Travelin’ with the Tmax’ (Tim Maxwell) has identified what he considers are the unique differences. He is writing from the point of view of an American, but we’re sure that some of these will resonate with you too.

expatica.com

Strikes planned in June

There is still time for things to change but currently we are looking at the possibility of disruption in the Spanish airports on June 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th. Although these are billed as partial strikes it is likely that they would still cause significant disruption and you should check whether you or anyone you know has plans to fly on these days.

For more information:

onthepulse.es

Top ten theme parks

With the summer approaching and many people looking forward to welcoming younger members of the family, the question of what to do on the long hot summer days arises.

Theme parks are a good option, although you might want to hit them either very early in the morning and have a mid afternoon break or visit in the evening, which is an option at some of these venues.

Spain’s Top 10 Theme Parks:

eyeonspain.com