Emilio Pino Abogados is now in collaboration with a group of reputed legal specialists offering you the legal assistance to claim and recover most, if not the totality, of inheritance tax paid if you have inherited properties or assets located in Spain and yourself or the deceased were not Spanish residents at the moment of the death (any year after 2004), on a No win-No fee basis.
For the time being an in the past, non-residents have been paying inheritance tax at a rate not applicable to people residing in Spain who enjoyed important reductions and benefits. According to European Union Law, this unequal treatment implies a breach of the non-discrimination rules and freedoms contained in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows individuals non resident in Spain to claim back the amounts paid for the Inheritance Tax in violation of European Union Law. Spanish heirs of non-resident testators may also claim the benefits of the European Union Law.
Contact us to register.
Since January 1st, 2012 the transfer tax, or Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP), applicable to private real estate property sales, has been raised in Andalucía as follows:
1) to 8% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property declared in the contract for private sales under EUR 400,000
2) to 9% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property that exceeds the amount of Euros 400,000 and is under EUROS 700,000.
3) To 10% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property that exceeds the amount of EUROS 700,000.
The same new rates will apply to garages (except for those annexed to houses with a maximum of two units) for the stretch of the following values:
1) Under EUR 30,000 (8% tax).
2) Exceeding the amount of Euros 30,000 and is under EUROS 50,000 (9% tax)
3) Exceeding the amount of EUROS 50,000 (10% tax)
The Court for Mercantile litigations in the Spanish city of Leon forces bank Caja España-Duero to eliminate the widely extended clause that sets a limit to the decrease of variable interest rate in its mortgages.
The Court has ordered Caja España-Duero to eliminate the so called floor-clause or “Cláusula suelo” of its hypothecating contracts in cases in which such clause is agreed at the present time and to abstain to use it in the future, according to the order dictated on 11th of March 2011.
The judge gives a term of three months to the bank entity to automatically eliminate the clause, with no need for each one of the clients to ask for this elimination by the bank.
The Ausban association, claimant of the legal procedure, considered that the Order of provisional judicial execution represents “a great advance” in the process and a “great benefit” for the users, since they will be able to eliminate this “abusive” clause from their hypothecating contracts from the present moment, with no need to wait for a final ruling sentence to be dictated, a fact that will bring a saving of money in their monthly payments in an immediate way.
The order of execution is confined to mortgages signed by consumers agreed to be subject to variable interest rate, in which there is a clause setting a minimum rate while there is not a one of maximum rate that compensates the risk in an equitable way.
In this way, the order will be of application in all mortgages having such floor and without ceiling, as well as in those ones having such floor and a ceiling equal or higher than 12%.
The association explained that for a family with an average mortgage of 150,000 euros, this measurement will represent an approximate annual saving of 1,000 euros, whereas the financial entity could see its income decreased in 50 million Euros per year due to such clause’s invalidation.
In first trimester of 2011 the online commerce in Spain , reached a turnover 23.1% superior to the one of 2010. Concretely, its national volume of businesses ascended to 2,055. 4 million Euros and a total of 30.2 million transactions were recorded, constituting an interannual growth (as far as number of transactions) of 28.2%, according to data of the Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT).
Looking at the statistics recently facilitated by the CMT it is shown that, contrary to most of the economic sectors where a recession is noticed with the arrival of the economic crisis, the commerce online in Spain has an ascending graph of quarterly evolution of volume of business as of the second trimester of 2009 is and its rate of interannual variation per trimesters is always positive. Concretely in the first trimester of 2009 the internet commerce invoiced a total of 1,239. 2 million Euros, that is to say, that from that period up to the first trimester of 2011 the turnover of this type of sale has increased in 816.2 million Euros. It means that the invoicing in this period displayed an increase of 65.87%.
Tourist travel agencies and operators as well as air transport, are the sectors at the top in what refers to online sales’ turnover, representing 12.4% and 12.2% of the total respectively. The next ones following those are direct marketing with a 6.3%, the terrestrial traveller’s transport with a 6.1%, the recreational games of chance and bets with a 4.9%, the show business, sport, and spectacles with a 4.1%, whereas the articles to dress held fast in the list with a 3.5%.
The online commerce within Spain represented 39.8% of the total and reached the number of 817.9 million Euros, this is a 14.4% increase with respect to same trimester of 2010. Nevertheless, it is to be emphasized that the most significant growth took place thanks to the operations conducted with Spain from the outside, from which an interannual growth of 77.3% was obtained, and registered a figure of 311.96 million from January to March.
On the other hand, the transactions of goods and services through Internet from Spain to the foreign countries reached a total of 925.56 million Euros, showing an increase of 5.78% with respect to same period of the previous year. If we compare what is bought from Spanish webs by the foreign countries with what we buy outside there is a deficit of 613.6 million Euros on the trimester being analysed.
Apart from that, the internet commerce within Spain, that is to say, the number of business generated in our country and directed to online points of sale also of within our borders was of 817.9 million of Euros, this is, 39.8% of the total amount, with 11.6 million operations. According to the statistics of CMT, by geographic areas, the European Union continues being the preferred destiny to buy on Internet with 829.5 million Euros, whereas the United States stays as second option with a 5.2% of the total amount.
Contenido extractado de la Obra «Derecho penal e Internet». (Javier Gustavo Fernández Teruelo. Lex Nova, 1.ª edición, octubre 2011).
La Ley Orgánica 5/2010 de reforma del Código Penal introdujo en nuestra legislación el delito de acceso ilícito a sistemas informáticos ajenos, también conocido como «intrusismo informático». En concreto, se añadió un tercer apartado al artículo 197 CP, cuya redacción es la siguiente: «El que por cualquier medio o procedimiento y vulnerando las medidas de seguridad establecidas para impedirlo, acceda sin autorización a datos o programas informáticos contenidos en un sistema informático o en parte del mismo o se mantenga dentro del mismo en contra de la voluntad de quien tenga el legítimo derecho a excluirlo, será castigado con pena de prisión de seis meses a dos años».
[...].
Desde el punto de vista de la acción, el delito se configura como un tipo mixto alternativo y, así, se castiga tanto el acceso a datos o programas informáticos ajenos a través de un sistema informático como el mantenerse dentro de él sin autorización. Tales comportamientos deberán llevarse a cabo: a) por cualquier medio o procedimiento, y, b) vulnerando las medidas de seguridad establecidas para impedirlo. La primera configura el tipo como un delito de medios indeterminados, en el que lo relevante es el resultado (conseguir el acceso a datos o programas informáticos insertos en un sistema informático), independientemente de cómo se consiga. Caben, por lo tanto, todo tipo de fórmulas, tanto físicas como virtuales (directas o remotas); así, el acceso físico directo al sistema en el propio ordenador de la víctima o el control remoto de éste u obtención de los datos mediante aplicaciones que así lo permitan. Suele recurrirse a programas maliciosos destinados a perjudicar o a hacer un uso ilícito de los recursos del sistema. Son instalados en el ordenador de destino abriendo una puerta para el acceso al sistema (puede ser un virus informático, un gusano informático, un troyano, una bomba lógica o un programa espía o spyware).
En cuanto a la segunda exigencia («vulnerando las medidas de seguridad establecidas para impedirlo») ésta plasma la idea, a mi juicio correcta, de limitar los supuestos típicos, cargando el desvalor del tipo en las maniobras dirigidas a la desactivación de las medidas de seguridad. Simultáneamente, la tutela penal estará exigiendo una mínima autoprotección de las eventuales víctimas a través del establecimiento de fórmulas específicas limitadoras de accesos no deseados al sistema; se trata, en definitiva, de todas aquellas fórmulas que pongan de manifiesto un específico interés por excluir a los demás del acceso al sistema propio y a la información en él contenida. Son límites de actuación basados en una mínima diligencia por parte de la víctima (similar, por ejemplo, a la exigencia de que el engaño sea «bastante» en la estafa y su interpretación respecto a la necesidad de una mínima autotutela por parte de la víctima). La exigencia de autoprotección convertirá en atípicos supuestos en que dicha protección no exista o no esté siendo utilizada y, por lo tanto, no sea necesaria su vulneración. El problema radicará en la determinación de los límites y el alcance de la autoprotección. Indudablemente, el nivel de exigencia habrá de ser distinto si se trata de particulares que si se trata de empresas. Es relevante a estos efectos la existencia de servicios de gestión no bloqueados, en firewall, la gestión incorrecta de contraseñas, los desarrollos de páginas web inseguras, las aplicaciones no parcheadas, etc. El precepto parece referirse sólo a medidas de carácter informático (software/hardware), quedando, aparentemente, excluidas las formas físicas de protección.
Overseas property owners based in the UK are about to be targeted by a new HM Revenue & Customs “affluent unit”, which has been set up by the British government to address what it sees as tax avoidance by the rich.
A new team of 200 taxation investigators and specialists has been established by HMRC to identify wealthy individuals who, amongst other things, own land and property abroad … such as a holiday home.
OPP understands that the tax attack unit will concentrate on overseas property assets first, and then switch its attention to UK-based commodity traders (who have been accused of helping to drive up food prices,) before looking into the number of UK residents who hold offshore investment accounts.
HMRC says that it will be using sophisticated “data mining” techniques to try and track down people who own overseas properties, but do not pay the right amount of tax.
This might include someone who owns a villa in Spain which they are renting out, or an individual who owns a piece of land in France that is being used as business premises, said an HMRC spokesman. The experts will be looking for people who do not seem to be declaring the correct income and gains.
The new unit, which has been announced by the UK’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will focus solely on people paying the 50% top tax rate.
David Gauke, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said there would be “no hiding place” for tax cheats, adding that the UK government “is committed to tackling tax evasion and avoidance across all areas of the economy. That is why we allocated HMRC £917m to reduce the tax gap over the next four years. This new team is part of that investment.”
Ronnie Ludwig, tax partner at accountancy group Saffery Champness told OPP that “those who have been letting out their foreign property and declaring the rents received have nothing to fear, but those who own foreign property which has never been let out should be prepared to prove to HMRC that they have received no income from the property.”
“This will involve producing UK and foreign bank statements and being able to demonstrate that they could afford to purchase and maintain the property out of normal declared sources.”
Source: http://www.opp.org.uk/news-article.php?id=5844
New rules are proposed to increase the amount of the remittance basis charge in certain circumstances and to allow tax-free remittances for the purposes of investing in qualifying businesses.
Non-UK domiciled individuals are broadly liable to UK tax on offshore income and gains only to the extent that they are remitted to the UK. Individuals that have been resident in the UK for at least seven of the last nine years must pay a £30,000 remittance basis charge to HMRC in any year in which they wish to use this regime, or otherwise be charged to UK tax on all income and gains regardless of where they arise in that year.
Remittance basis charge
The remittance basis charge will be increased to £50,000 p.a. for those who have been resident in the UK for at least 12 of the 14 years prior to the year of the claim. The charge will work in exactly the same way as the current £30,000 charge and will take effect from 6 April 2012.
There should therefore be increased interest in planning that allows control over when income and gains arise (to minimise the years for which you need to pay the remittance basis charge). This might include overseas trusts and bonds with interest paid at redemption.
Remitting to invest in qualifying businesses
Non-domiciled individuals will be allowed to remit income into the UK without incurring a UK tax charge where they do so to invest in a “qualifying business”, broadly:
businesses carrying out a trading activity; or
businesses undertaking the development or letting of commercial property as a substantial part of their businesses; but not
the holding and letting of residential property nor leasing of intangible moveable property.
Views are sought on whether remitting funds to invest in listed companies should also be tax-free, although this does not sit consistently with the stated aim of the reform as being to promote “generation of jobs, tax receipts and wider economic benefits”. Nevertheless, the additional flexibility and simplicity of this proposal would be attractive to taxpayers.
The investment must be made into a UK company (or an offshore company with a UK permanent establishment) and it will be possible to invest either directly or via an investment vehicle or trust. To allow private equity companies to qualify, investment may also be made into a company which holds other companies provided it is part of a trading group.
On disposal of the investment, the proceeds must be taken out of the UK within two weeks if an immediate tax charge on the value of the investment is to be avoided. It seems that any gain (or loss) from the disposal of the investment itself will be taxed in the usual way.
Anti-avoidance
The Government aims to prevent individuals from deriving personal benefit from this relief. The anti-avoidance measures will include, for example, provisions which allow the investor (and family) to work in the business to which the funds are remitted, and receive a commercial salary, but will prevent any non-commercial payments such as guarantees or loans.
Article by John Watson, Richard Palmer, Alexander Cox, Paul Miller and Simon Swann
An Apple’s British Store employee was dismissed due to bad-mouthing the company on Facebook, despite the fact that the comment was marked as private. However, a companion of the worker who was among his contacts in the social network saw it, printed it and surrendered it to his boss.
A few months ago an U.S. Court forced a company to return to recruit five workers dismissed for the same reason.
However, in this case the British Employment Tribunal ratified this dismissal because it considered that Apple has a very clear policy in this area and prohibits publishing negative comments on social networks.
According to Jamie Hamnett in People Management, the Court also took into account that the comments could be very harmful to the company, because its image is “fundamental to its success”.
In addition, the Court also found that the fact that the comments were private did not prevent anyone with access to them circulated them on the Internet. Therefore the worker could not be eligible to the right to privacy, collected by article 8 of the Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
(TICbeat)
You are on the top of the hill…still enjoying your recent slice shot on 18th hole. You are sure it was your cutest banana ball and you told others it was intentional when the ball landed on the green. And now you see a rewarding view of Mediterranean landscape only to be seen in a Marbella’s October afternoon: a colourful sea, dark African hills at the top of the frame, and the sun setting on the right giving you another irreplaceable orange-red variation of curtain closing…
You have what you deserved after all those years of work: a pleasant life, a decent house in Spain for winter you can call home, a family enjoying as well as you do the advantages of having a double residence…and Marbella, giving you and yours such mind-open world’s citizenship you believe has been a reason enough to choose staying in this part of the continent.
However, you are every now and then assaulted by fears: what would happen to the boys when I die? Would they, for instance, be prepared to face the unclear formalities and consequences when they inherit the house? You have been told stories of horror about Spanish inheritance taxation as well as about consequences of inaction for families who thought everything about the parental estate was arranged, or who were simply off guard. Yes, you agree these fears are shadows sometimes menacing your welfare…
Have you thought about seeking an advisor who could help you, so that these fears start to dissipate? What about finding an arbiter, as well as an adviser, who plays the role of a trusted good man for your heirs as well as of a shield against obscure predatory aims of a legal system you never get to understand completely?
Emilio Pino – Abogados is able to guide you about finding that peace of mind. Independency, experience and trustfulness are the main things we can be proud of.
Start doing it for you: Call us for an interview.
Mail: admin@emiliopino.com
Site: www.emiliopino.com
The Spanish Cabinet, in an effort to conclude some of the reforms in the Legal system before elections take place in November has now approved an extra-speedy legal procedure to legally evict non paying lesees so that in the event that the lesees do not vacate the property, pay or make legal formal opposition after a first requirement is done, they shall be forced to move from the rented house thus avoiding the celebration of unnecessary court trails.
http://boe.vlex.es/vid/324837931