Hacienda - Tax Inspectors

[JMD40]

I thought I should report a very concerning event this morning. It seems that Hacienda... or the local tax office... have inspectors operating in the area at the moment. Today they visited a private villa in the urbanisation El Vila and after identifying themselves to clients insisted on clients full co-operation or they would call the police!!
They wanted to see the clients invoice along with details of how they paid, where they found details of the property, amount of monies paid, length of stay etc.etc.
This has obvoiusly made clients furious that there privacy was interrupted and also placed doubts and concerns as to the legality of the house owners, myself and of course how much Pollensa really wants visitors if they are to be treated in this way by tax officers.
I did hear rumblings last week about this but I could not really believe it was true but it seems it is.
Surely this is not the way forward.

 

[pollensafan]

I guess this follows on from the articles about trying to stop private rentals. Just shows how short sighted they are. If you stop private rentals in pp, where do they think all the people affected by it would stay. I've said it before concerning this subject. Nobody repeat nobody is going to tell me where I spend my money. If it comes down to a choice of just hotels or apartment complexes, then it's goodbye pp. We all know who is behind this fiasco, The hoteliers. All done under the cloak of so say renters not paying the correct tax. What they really want is it stopped so you have to stay in their hotels/apartments. Wake up you fools. If you think pp would survive on the income from just your commercial accommodation you are living in fantasy island. Rant over" Hacienda That "

 

[Rob72]

Thats pretty scary stuff; we are coming out this weekend to the Iru appartments and dont fancy haveing the tax men knock on the door. Any tips on how we should deal with this in the unlikely event that we get a knock on the door?
On a much happier note, we cant wait to get back out there as this break has been a looong time coming. Its a real home from home experience for us.

 

[lollipop]

Rob72,
I suspect that because of where you are renting you will be ok. They are clamping down on people who they think are not declaring income. Unfortunately there are a lot of people here who do not pay or complete tax forms and that includes some people who have lived here for a number of years.

 

[Papillon]

There is always a dilemma about declaring income from renting an apartment, how do you declare an income when you are not supposed to be renting?
I would be happy to pay for an annual permit and declare tax but many of us are in this Catch 22 situation.

 

[Tetley]

From the perspective of someone who only rents apartments when we stay in Pollensa and/or the Port I have been amazed in the past as to how much of the rental sector is operating in the "black economy". It is also amazing as to how many of the owners who are in this situation almost brag openly when you contact them to find availability and costs. I can say that the person from whom we rent at the moment is a Mallorquine, issues receipts and contracts and I know pays all her dues. She also has insurance on her properties so that IF an unfortunate incident arises and results in injury to her guests, she is fully covered and we wouldn't have it any other way. I wonder what happens to those guests "on the dark side" IF the worst happens? The laws are quite specific, just as they were when I was in moving freight around for many years if you want to play the game, you must hold to the rules (drivers hours, insurance etc). As a working man who has paid all his taxes, all his working life, tax evasion and there's no other way to put it, is a sore point and I apologise for a bit of a rant on the topic.

 

[cumberland8]

I have been renting properties in the Port for nearly 30 years & always pay cash & I always will ,because at least I know there will be a property to stay at when I arrive & if there wasn't at least i would have only lost a small deposit.
This is the fastest rising crime in Europe where people pay huge sums for holiday rentals on a credit card only to find no such property exists & I know you get assurances from CC company's that you will be refunded but these things take a lot of your holiday time up.We met a couple in the Port last year who were hoodwinked, when they went to report it they found themselves no 12 to report same crime in Pollensa that week.
Also if you agree to pay the owner on arrival & the rental does not live up to expectations you can walk away which happened to us about 10 years ago the photos were wonderful,the villa filthy.
As the saying goes cash is king every time.

 

[eleanor]

As someone with a property which I rent out I would like to state that all taxes are paid and we have full insurance to cover any eventuality. I believe this to be the norm with 99.9% of people who rent out their property. Certainly I haven't as yet met anyone who would even think about not having full insurance.

I do feel that there are two sides to the above arguments. Can I just say that no way would I accept payment on arrival. How would I be sure that the person renting would turn up? I have held my property at potential renters requests while they look for flights only never to hear from them again. How can I risk someone not turning up for the supposed holiday?

There is so much put forward from the renters point of view but frankly there are some pretty bad renters which leave owners having to pick up the pieces. For example footprints up the wall! A broken table, scorched worktop, filthy sofa covers etc etc. I even had curtains stolen one year!

I can hear people up in arms about my comments and shouting at the keyboard that they wouldn't do that - well some people don't have the respect for others property which you might. Likewise not all owners are tax dodgers operating with no insurance either!

 

[eleanor]

Oh forgot to mention too that full signed contracts are given as well as receipts plus various ways to pay leading up to the stay. Names and numbers are given at first contact so any potential renter can check out with our cleaning agents if required as well as other local (Pollensa) references. This should give renters peace of mind plus we are in regular contact throughout. We treat this in a professional way as we would any business.

 

[Deanscroft]

If you are fully legal you have nothing to fear!

 

[eleanor]

People on holiday really can do without having a knock on the door and be intimidated by these people. It also implies a problem. We already have to warn about 'gas/electricity men' bogus cleaners etc.
I'm sure should it happen to a holidaymaker then they may think again before returning to PP or even Mallorca. Not good!

There is a thread 'Considering a first time holiday in PP' the thought of knocks on the door, pickpockets, plus various other rip offs may all come into this consideration. I just hope the many positive things PP has to offer out weigh all of this. Ok it happens everywhere I know but it would be good to know the powers that be are working with bringing people to PP and not actively against. There are other ways to catch those being naughty without upsetting someones holiday.

 

[pollensafan]

As I said earlier, this is all smoke and mirrors. You only need to research the history of what kicked this off. The big guns in the hotel industry don't want private renting. If every man and his dog paid their dues from tomorrow it would change nothing. They would then find some other point to latch onto. Come on folks wake up. When nearly all the holidays were taken as packages as 99% of us did they couldn't have cared less. Now the independent holiday maker has exploded in numbers they don't like it. They are only interested in boosting their own bank balances. They don't care about local business or the community or they would not be pushing all inclusive's at every opportunity. If that isn't designed to put surrounding restaurants out of business then tell me what is.
I'm off now to lie down in a dark room with a damp towel on my head

 

[pollensafan]

Eleanore, Re private renters,,,,,,
I can imagine there must be some nightmare stories. I rent 3 times a year now and all I can say is my moto is simple. When the time comes for me to leave, I go in every room and I then ask myself one question.
" Would I know that anyone had stayed here"? As long as I can answer " No " then my job is done

 

[eleanor]

Pollensafan - how I wish all had the same attitude as you. Brilliant!

 

[rainbow]

People on holiday really can do without having a knock on the door and be intimidated by these people. It also implies a problem. We already have to warn about 'gas/electricity men' bogus cleaners etc.

Just a thought - if you warn people about bogus cleaners etc, why dont you warn them about these inspectors?? They may feel less intimidated.

 

[eleanor]

They have now been added to the list! The fact is that any holiday maker just doesn't need any aggro. I'm sure many scams are worldwide but all that is important to a holiday maker is their holiday and where they are going and what is happening to them and now.

I think it can be very off putting to be provided with a list of things to be aware. Of course knowledge is power but there is a slim line between being informed and them just thinking to heck with this we will go elsewhere.

 

[mike_dublin]

I think it can be very off putting to be provided with a list of things to be aware. Of course knowledge is power but there is a slim line between being informed and them just thinking to heck with this we will go elsewhere.

I'm sure it can be off putting, but as a renter I'd be grateful for the warning.
Not everyone's reading the forum.

It's unfortunate, that there's a lot of scammers* around looking to relieve people in holiday mode and unfamiliar with local circumstances of their hard earned money.

*the genuine tax inspectors (probably?) don't fall into that category

 

[Tetley]

If you are fully legal you have nothing to fear!

Surely, people realise that genuine tax authorities already know which rental properties are being marketed and run legally, not least because they have access to the advertising as well as utility companies records to check usage.As Deanscroft says, only the guilty need worry. Pollesafan, you are just like my wife, the place HAS to be left in excellent order, anything less is not acceptable.

 

[Deanscroft]

I´m wondering if we are combining two completely separate things here. One is the legality of renting particularly in view of the provisions of the new law passed last year which I think Pollencafan is probably right in saying was brought in purely at the request of and for the benefit of the hoteliers. I would be very surprised to see any determined campaign to apply this as so many local businesses depend on the private rental market. As long as owners are a bit sensible in the way they operate and don´t be to blatent about it then I would doubt that there will be a problem.
The second thing is the requirement to pay tax. By owners needing to be sensible this is what I mean. Everyone who owns a property in Spain and doesn´t live in it is required to pay income tax on that property whether or not it is rented out. Anyone who actively avoids paying this tax be it by ignorance or desire is asking for trouble and quite frankly deserves it when it arrives.

 

[pollensafan]

Surely, people realise that genuine tax authorities already know which rental properties are being marketed and run legally, not least because they have access to the advertising as well as utility companies records to check usage.As Deanscroft says, only the guilty need worry. Pollesafan, you are just like my wife, the place HAS to be left in excellent order, anything less is not acceptable.

Tetley, I have always been like that. If someone is gracious enough to let you into their home, you have an obligation to treat it with the utmost respect. Last time I was out there the owner had put a brand new throw over their sofa. I refused to sit on it for the duration of my stay as I didn't want to crease it.. How sad is that lol