Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Ponters Pensées 15.6.16

The Dreadful Modelo 720 Law: If you're a foreign resident with overseas assets of more than €50,000 - say a shed in Basingstoke - you're obliged under this to declare these assets. And you've had this obligation since 2013. If you don't know this, you're in line for huge fines. And you'll be interested to read these points about the EU's consideration of whether the 2012 statute that brought in Model 720 is illegal:-

  • The penalties for late reporting or failing to report assets are very high, in some cases more than the asset is actually worth. This is the basis of the EU's investigation into the legality of the law.
  • The Finance Ministry believes there are about 2m foreign taxpayers with assets overseas who have not submitted a Modelo 720 since 2012. [Two million!]
  • Spain has delayed the EU process by appealing against its preliminary ruling that elements of the law certainly are illegal.
  • The extension of the time allowed for this appeal seems to have no time limit.
  • No one knows when the ministry of revenue will reply with their counter arguments.
  • The EU's judicial review concerns the Spanish authorities because the tax has been a valuable generator of additional revenues for the government.
  • The tax has led to more than 8,800 inspections that have generated €840m in penalties and surcharges.
  • Tax advisers to the British community have warned that the EU investigation is likely to take years to resolve. 
  • They've also warned that, even if the case makes it to the commission’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, it’s unlikely that those already unfairly affected by the fines will ever be reimbursed.

Wonderful, eh? The rule of law, stuff that. You've been warned. And now you know why thousands of foreigners with a house in the UK - and a house in Spain they can't now effectively rent out - have fled a country in which honest people - both Spanish and foreign - pay the price for the immense damage done by the most corrupt politicians in Europe. And in which no one thinks about the day after tomorrow, being obsessed with expediency. Though this is nothing new, even among honest politicians.

More Bad News: According to an article El País: Heroin is returning to Spain because of the massive global availability of this drug. And Galicia is re-living the nightmare of drug-trafficking. Very sad reading. It seems we now have both Turks and Alabanians involved in this murderous trade here. Both are said to be prepared to torture people into taking part in the business. But the Romanian crooks seem happy to remain as mere burglars, bag-stealers and phony charity chuggers. Not to mention the (honest) beggars on their knees all day in Santiago. It must be tough being a Spanish crook/beggar these days, with all this competition around.

Spain's Black Economy: This diagram shows someone's guesstimate of how much this represents of each region's GDP. This ranges from 17% in Madrid to 31% in Estremadura and 29% in Andalucia, where they'll be annoyed at not getting the top slot. Galicia's is a mere 26%. The national average is normally guessed at around 20%, which can only mean that Madri's GDP is much greater than all the other's put together. Or that the 20% is wrong and the true figure is higher. Say 25%. Or even 30 in these tough times:


This Blog's Readership: Google tells me that the biggest groups of readers are in the Ukraine and Russia. Can this really be true? If so, is it because I regularly laugh at RT TV? And should I be worried that I'm being monitored . . . .? BTW . . . I read through my Coastal Camino posts last night and found (and corrected) typos in every one of them, despite having read them several times before. Doe no one want the (highly paid) sub-editor job? Other than that obnoxiously arrogant old bore, Alfie Mittington.

The Coastal Camino: Just a final statue in Oviedo, near the FEVE station. Nude, of course:-



Finally . . .  A nice rainbow yesterday evening. During what is proving to be a very wet June, as in the UK. And possibly Ireland and elsewhere in Europe:



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