Authorities in Spain have unfolded plans to introduce a tax of up to 100 per cent on the value of properties bought by nationals from countries outside the European Union following the decision to abolish the Golden Visa program.
The decision confirmed by the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, came in order to meet the country’s housing emergency, Schengen.News reports.
The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants.
According to the Spanish PM, non-EU residents bought a total of 27,000 properties in Spain in 2023, not to live in it but to make money from it.
Sánchez said that under the current housing crisis Spain is dealing with, such an option cannot be allowed. The decision, according to him, came in a bid to prioritise available homes for residents, as quoted by BBC.
However, Sánchez didn’t provide further details on how the tax would work. His office considered the proposed measure as a way to limit the purchase of homes by nationals from non-EU countries.
The tax burden that they will have to pay in case of purchase will be increased up to 100 per cent of the value of the property, in line with countries such as Denmark and Canada.
The government of Spain said that the proposal would be finalised after being carefully studied.
Spain Ending Golden Visa Program in April to Deal With Housing Crisis
Among the main options for purchasing a property in Spain was the real estate investment option of the Golden Visa Program.
However, in a bid to deal with labour shortages, authorities in Spain decided to abolish the program altogether.
Plans to terminate the Golden Visa program were revealed by the Spanish PM in April 2024.
Last year, the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, said that Spain is working with all the instruments in order to solve the housing problem. According to the minister, the first step to reinforce the supply of affordable housing is to terminate the Golden Visa Program.
This type of investment puts a lot of stress on the market, increases the price of houses and encourages speculation. The Government’s objective is to put an end to the speculation.
However, the announcement of the termination of the program led to a significant increase in the number of golden visa applications.
Golden Partners, a firm specialising in advising international investors in Spain’s real estate market, revealed that the number of applications for this program increased significantly, in particular since January 3, 2025, when the decision to terminate the program was published in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE).
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