Spain proposes a 100% tax on real estate purchases for non-EU buyers

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Spain is planning to impose a 100% tax on real estate for buyers from non-EU countries such as the UK in a bid to improve housing affordability by discouraging foreign purchases.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced plans for a punitive wealth tax, which will apply to non-EU nationals but not EU residents, as part of a series of measures aimed at tackling the housing crisis “serious”.

Spain is one of many European countries where public anger is growing at the difficulty of finding affordable housing, as property prices soar and construction activity lags far behind demand.

“The West faces a decisive challenge: not to become a society divided into two classes, rich landlords and poor tenants,” Sánchez said when announcing the set of 12 measures.

This is a developing story