THE SUPREME COURT DELIMITS MORTGAGE CHARGES DEDUCTIBLE BY NON-RESIDENTS

In the recent ruling 167/2013, of 13 February, the Supreme Court (SC) establishes that non-residents who own real estate located in Spain can only deduct from Wealth Tax (IP), and therefore, in the Temporary Solidarity Tax of Great Fortunes (ITSGF), the mortgages constituted for the acquisition or refurbishment of said real estate.

The Supreme Court stresses that in the case of taxpayers under real obligation, the delimitation of the taxable base of the tax is linked to the property and/or right located in Spain itself, so that the deductible debts are limited to the mortgage charges incurred to acquire or reform the property.

Consequently, if the taxpayer subsequently grants a loan secured by a mortgage on the property located in Spain (i.e. the loan is not linked to the acquisition or refurbishment), it will not be deductible, since, although the two debts are secured by the same property, the mortgage taken out to acquire or refurbish the property is a security interest, whereas a mortgage taken out subsequently and not used for the acquisition or refurbishment of the property is a personal debt secured by a mortgage on the property itself.

Therefore, non-resident taxpayers owning real estate located in Spanish territory must take this ruling into account in their investment and indebtedness strategies on real estate they own located in Spanish territory.

Expatfeliu can advise and support you in analysing the tax impact of your investment and debt strategies on your property located in Spain.

 

NEW SYSTEM FOR THE RECOGNITION OF OFFICIAL FOREIGN DEGREES

On 8 November 2022, Royal Decree number 889/2022 of 18 October came into force, which introduced a new “express” system of recognition and declaration of equivalence of officially valid degrees or diplomas obtained in the framework of foreign higher education systems.

Prior to this law, the procedure for recognition of foreign degrees could take up to 2 years, but now, following this reform, the public administration is obliged to issue a decision within a maximum period of 6 months from the receipt of the application (hence the name “express”).

If the homologation and equivalence procedures were initiated under the provisions of the previous Law, Royal Decree 967/2014, of 21 November, it will be possible to submit a new application as provided for in the reform, provided that you have not yet been notified of the hearing procedure in the previous file and that the new application includes a request for withdrawal of the previous procedure.

In these cases, it will not be necessary to pay the corresponding administrative fees again, provided that the previous fees have been paid correctly.

Finally, it is important to note that this Law only applies to official university degrees that correspond to studies already completed and that it only covers those professions regulated in Spain and contained in the annex of the Law itself.

If you need more information about the new “express” recognition and declaration of equivalence procedure, do not hesitate to contact us!

MEXICO: REFORM TO THE FEDERAL LABOR LAW REGARDING VACATIONS

On January 1, 2023 in Mexico, the reform of Articles 76 and 78 of the Federal Labor Law, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on December 27, 2022, called “Dignified Vacations” in the draft reform initiative, has entered into force.

  • The reform of Article 76 implies a significant increase in the number of vacation days to which employees are entitled, which in the first year of the contract increases from 6 to 12 days. The vacation period will increase by two days every year until it reaches twenty, and from the sixth year onwards, it will increase by two days every five years.

 

  • Article 78 establishes that the employee must enjoy at least twelve continuous vacation days, however, if he/she wishes, he/she may distribute his/her vacation days as he/she deems necessary.

This reform is applicable on the effective date to all employment contracts in force at that date, provided that it is more favorable to the employees.

Companies must establish a clear procedure for the request and authorization of vacations and the way in which vacations will be accrued for the time worked in 2022, in addition to considering the economic implications of the reform.

 

If you need more information on the Reform of Articles 76 and 78 of the Federal Labor Law in Mexico, please do not hesitate to contact us, our experts in the field will inform and advise you on the new reforms.

 

TAX CHANGES ITS CRITERIA AND STATES THAT THE INDIRECT HOLDING OF REAL ESTATE BY NON-RESIDENTS IS EXEMPT FROM WEALTH TAX

The binding consultation V1947-22 published by the Directorate General of Taxes on September 13, 2022, constitutes a new tax approach in which the indirect holding of real estate by non-resident individuals is declared exempt from Wealth Tax.

The taxpayer is an individual resident for tax purposes in Germany who owns 100% of the shares in a German company, which holds the direct ownership of a property located in Mallorca, and therefore the taxpayer has indirect ownership of the aforementioned property. The Directorate General of Taxes concludes that the taxpayer is not subject to Wealth Tax since he is not the direct owner of the property located in Spain.

This measure has an important tax transcendence especially in tourist areas such as the Mediterranean coast or the Balearic Islands, where it is common for non-resident individuals to channel their real estate investments through companies that have their tax residence outside the Spanish state.

Indeed, if the real estate is acquired through a foreign company, the direct ownership falls on the aforementioned company, and the non-resident individual partner who holds a certain percentage of shares of the entity, being the indirect owner of the real estate, will be exempt from paying Wealth Tax.

Special attention to the real estate acquired in Spain directly by the non-resident individual, since these would be subject to Wealth Tax by real obligation.

The resolution is binding and retroactive, so that investments with similar characteristics to those of the resolution that have occurred in non-prescribed fiscal years will have to be analyzed in detail, for the purpose of studying the filing of a claim for undue income.

How can we help you?

If you have any doubts in this regard, you can contact us and our team specialized in international taxation will advise you and give you more information on the tax transcendence with respect to the indirect holding of real estate in Spanish territory by non-resident individuals.