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Hacienda - Tax Inspectors

  • Thread starter Thread starter JMD40
  • Start date Start date
Personaly I would have telephoned the Guardia Civil/Hacienda and checked that these "Inspectors" are who they say they are, I would also have read their I.D.'s very closely, clearly this can only be done if you are legal but my point here is that even if they are real inspectors there must be a civil rights issue here...
 
Do they have the right to do that just demand to come in and see your confidential paperwork ?? Very few people would have enough Spanish to check all this identity
 
They do have the right and they will be able to speak English. If everything is legal and above board there is nothing to fear.
 
I am just speaking as a guest if I was staying in someones apartment not as an owner

I think it would be rather intimidating for this to happen
 
I'm afraid Sunny is correct they can do whatever they like ,:eek::eek::eek:you must check their pass & once verified it is in your interest to be as cooperative as possible otherwise they can waste an awful lot of your holiday time .
It is very unusual for there to be less than 3 inspectors (for obvious reasons) & yes one will speak English.
 
From today's Bulletin:-

Crackdown launched on illegal holiday home rentals

Majorca Daily Bulletin, España 19 Jul 2013

Palma.— The Balearic local ministry for tourism has launched a massive crackdown on illegal holiday homes in the Balearics.

Government inspectors have been scanning website where holiday accommodation is offered and also probing reports of homes which are being offered to tourists illegally.

To rent out a property, the owner must first get the necessary paperwork from the Balearic Ministrry for tourism. In many cases owners just go ahead and rent their homes illegally much to the anger of local hoteliers who say it is unfair competition.
 
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What the article doesn't say is that many owners have tried to obtain permits to rent only to find they are no longer issuing them.Once again pressure from elsewhere has caused this ridiculous situation.
How the property market will ever recover when possible purchasers are denied the right to help improve the local economy is beyond me.
Those that are lucky enough to have a permit need to realise that those of us that don't are put in an impossible position and wish to see a satisfactory resolution that benefits all, not just the hoteliers.
 
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Personally, I would ask to take a photo of them. If they are genuine then they wouldn't mind. That used to scare away the bogus callers previously.

It would be interesting to know if they have a right of entry. In the UK anyone like this would need to have a warrant granted by a magistrate, and they would need to produce it before entry. I would imagine Spanish law is similar.
 
According to my clients they were very heavy handed. They did not speak English. I think at the very least they should have a printed form written in several languages which explains what they are doing and apologises for the inconveninece. Tax Office has a right to answers. They do not necessarily want to enter the property but they were very clear they wanted all their questions answered or the police were going to be called. They wanted to know where the property was found, how much was paid, had they been to the property before, did the price include electric, gas, how the cleints paid, number of bank account which was used if bank transfer. etc. etc.
It certainly annoyed my clients by their attitude, annoyed my clients by the intrusion of privacy and also made the clients think that the owners were maybe avoiding paying tax. They did have the name of the owners on their records.
Tourism inspectors are one body, tax inspectors are another so potentially we could expect two inspectors knocking on doors. This villa was off the beaten track.
HAVE FUN ALL. ANOTHER HOT ONE.
 
Following on from Jan's post I am a little surprised that this thread doesn't seem to have hit a nerve with property owners. This last week has apparently seen these inspectors out and about and just knocking on doors. This is very serious stuff and should not be taken lightly. From information gained it seems that it is illegal for apartments to operate a rental service and also villas need to have a tourist licence. From this same information it seems that these licences are hard to obtain and will not be given to apartments. Therefore anyone renting without a licence is open to heavy fines. It seems that you can rent under the short term tenancy act 1994 but you are unable to offer any service. Andrew has been brillliant in supplying relevant info and if you google you will find all the relevant info from various sources. The inspectors have been gaining much of their info from rental websites. If you are offering short term rental then thses sites will not work with the short term tenancy agreement. To be on a site confirms that you offer a tourist agreement. These inspectors are doing the rounds and have been seen throughout the Port.
There is much to say about this subject but one thing which hasn't been spoken about is the knock on effect of all of this. This is serious stuff and will hit all of us property owners. Just think how many properties there are on the market at the moment. The success of PP was built on mostly the British buying in with the view to rent their property out to others wishing to share the wonderful place it is. If those property owners have mortgages which just a few years ago were being given away, they may well need the rental revenue to help pay for those mortgages. Ok it could be argued that a property should not have been purchased on that basis but the fact remains that many were. So these people will have seeen the value of their property decrease and now they are unable to rent too. It might just be easier to walk away. Will Pollensa then become like some areas of the mainland with property not being maintained and possibly just left! The bombs gone off and no one told us!
Also where will this leave business? Many have moved to Mallorca and built a business based on the rental market and property ownership. Again some might not maintain their homes bacause if the lack of money. Cleaning staff, rental agents and maintenance won't be needed as property can not be let out so they will see their business go bye bye. Plus restaurants and other associated holiday associated business. Holiday rental sites too will suffer as if a renter is not allowed to rent or be on a rental site then there will be no need for them. It could be argued that it is a human right to do as you wish with your property and the question has been who and when will this be challenged in court.

The knock on of this is just crazy! None of us who love PP should have a smile on our faces as we will all be hit by this in my opinion. Plus of course how much will our property be worth if this is not challenged? I really feel this is a worry to all whether you rent with or without a licence! Do we want PP to become tired and run down? of course we don't - what the heck can we do about this? :confused:
 
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Excellent Eleonor,
This is exactly the picture that I am seeing if these threats continue.Puerto Pollensa could become a ghost town with very many abandoned properties. Those people living in communities will have massive problems as people will stop paying the community fees resulting in lack of communal services such as lifts, pool cleaning, garden maintenence etc. or increased fees for those clients living in the building.
I can report that the inspectors returned to the same villa in El Vila just 2 weeks ago and requested all the same information from my clients.
These clients said they were very pleasant and did speak English. I have a copy of the form that was completed for Hacienda requesting how much was paid and where the money was paid, whether electric or gas was included in the rental charge, whether they had been to the property before and where they found the property advertised.
Regarding the rental of apartments, it all seems to have gone quiet at the moment which is sometimes more worrying.
 
I think apartment owners are just holding their breath at the moment hoping it will all go away and that this is not the lull before the storm.
What I don't understand is the focus on this villa, as the only obstacle to being legal is the reluctance to issue a permit to a property that seems to qualify.
Most apartments unfortunately are not in this position.
 
I would guess that the authorities here are treating this in the same way as they treat foreign registered cars ie. they first go after the ones that will generate the most revenue.
 
This has been posted on FB by Andrew Ede.

Residential tourism (aka also holiday lets and private apartments for tourist rental) ... Kate Mentink for Europeos por España has confirmed that a debate on this will take place on 10 December at the Club Diario de Mallorca (at the Diario's building on the Llevant industrial estate in Palma) between 6.30pm and 8.00pm. I shall be taking part. The director-general of tourism for the Balearics, Jaime Martinez, will also be participating, as will Alvaro Middelmann, ex-president of the Mallorca Tourist Board. Hopefully, it should be enlightening. By the way, it will be in English. Please ask Kate for any more details.
Click to expand...
 
Just a bit more on this. Kate has asked that for this Europeos por España event, in order for them to get an idea of numbers, could anyone planning on attending advise them at EporE.baleares@gmail.com. Thanks.
 
Pretty sure the Mail's got this wrong as it is referring to legislation (that through the reform of the tenancy act) that has already been passed.
 
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