National

Spanish Tax Treaties Changes – a taxing trend for foreigners

Spain is very active in signing new tax treaties and updating some old treaties, unfortunately not necessarily for the benefit of the individuals investing in Spain. Double Tax Treaties are bi lateral, supranational laws that regulate the way that foreigners are taxed on assets and income of the other country. Generally speaking where both countries … Read more

Spanish Bank Crisis – Were the Auditors Asleep on the Job?

There is much in the news today about various firms of auditors being appointed to analyse the real bad debt situation that has caused the banking crisis. As a small scale Spanish auditor myself, I can’t help think that something has gone seriously wrong in the audit profession in Spain and it amazes me that … Read more

Spanish Banks in Ruin – The Story so Far (And a Bit About King Canute)

Alistair Spence Clarke28/11/2011 An article in a blog I was reading this weekend caught my eye and I decided to do some digging. After a few minutes, what I have long suspected about the bank’s holdings of defaulting loan assets became crystal clear. The last property crash in Spain happened in the early 1990s, at … Read more

Will Rajoy Have What it Takes After the Spanish Elections on Sunday?

Election day on Sunday 20th November should produce a dramatic change in Government for Spain. But what will this mean? On Sunday, the Partido Popular, the centre right political party is expected to romp home with an overall majority of the 350 member Congress of Deputies, Spain’s lower legislative house. The newspapers predict that the … Read more

Stop Press – Sarkozy Says Spain is no Longer in the Front Line!

Thoughts on alternate realities…Or was he thinking of the Maginot line? Lets hope Sarkozy’s imaginary line will hold for longer than the Maginot line that proved useless within a few days to repel a German invasion. The phrase ‘wishful thinking’ comes to mind. If only politicians could create reality. If only. France’s top man, praised … Read more

Return of the Dreaded Spanish Wealth Tax – A Brief Commentary

Many will remember that happy day in December 2008 when the Spanish Government eliminated Wealth Tax, or so it was thought! The idea in 2008 was to make Spain a more attractive economy and do away with an archaic tax that has its roots in 1977 when inflation and interest rates were in double figures, … Read more