28 May 2009

Tax breaks for all in Spain

The McBroon Clan of Scottish ministers and sporran-hanging MPs, having ruined the British economy, have now been exposed as tax dodgers with many of them getting taxpayers to pick up the bills from the accountants they hired “to make sure we were paying the correct of amount of tax”.

For “correct” read “minimum”. And the worst offender appears to be Alistair Darling, the man in charge of tax matters and who recently declared war on tax havens and all those business people using them.

Since he and his predecessor as chancellor, the head of the McBroons himself, came to power they have increased the tax burden on the British citizenry to the highest levels for decades. So why should the rest of us part with a penny of the ever-increasing taxation being demanded by a man who doesn't pay his own fair share?

McDarling's tax avoidance was revealed by the Daily Telegraph because his expenses claims showed that he'd 'flipped' his designated second home - the one on which he could claim running costs from the taxpayer - four times in four years.

In 2004, when he was Secretary of State for Transport, Mr Darling claimed that his main residence was a small flat in Lambeth, owned by Lewis Moonie, a fellow Labour MP. Mr Moonie - another part of the spider’s web of Scottish McBroon MPs - had bought the flat from Gordon Brown.

But for McDarling, designating this flat as his main residence - despite the fact that his wife and children lived in Scotland - allowed him to bill taxpayers for the upkeep of his much larger Edinburgh house, bought for £570,000 in 1998…

It would take an accountant to unravel such a web of deceit and maximise the tax avoidance, so it’s no surprise he hired one and put his fees on the taxpayer’s tab. The saga is detailed in the Daily Mail and is worth reading.

Also worth reading for taxpayers planning to invest some of their cash the McBroons have not yet grabbed, is an article on how to buy a bargain property in Spain – including Spanish bank repossessions – and avoid all the McBroon property taxes. No capital gains tax – benefit enjoyed by McBroon and other MPs – and no inheritance tax, no currency exchange problems etc.

The scheme is called Libertad – Spanish for Freedom – and more Brits are planning to follow the example of the McBroons and minimise the amount of tax they hand over.

27 May 2009

Spanish practices in perks and property...

There was a bit of an image problem for Spain when trade unions called the shots in Seventies Britain by demanding more money for less work, layered with a load of bosses' perks.

It was likened to traditional similar practices in Spain and the insult stuck, despite that country subsequently becoming a dynamic Med powerhouse with a strong economy, 21st century communications, and the leading tourist destination and international property market.

Margaret Thatcher kicked the trade unions and their “Spanish practices” into touch, resulting in the strongest-ever Britsh economy as inherited by the incoming McBroon government.

Now the country is looking busted with £750 billion of debt and wracked by the parliamentary expenses scandal, the media has harked back to the Seventies for the ultimate sobriequet "Spanish practices" to describe the fiddles and scams of McBroon ministers and MPs from all parties.

The unspeakable Mick Martin was cast in the role of the old trade union boss, living it up with the free big house and chauffer cars and encouraging the Honourable Members to claim for the maximum on the taxpayers’ tab...

When the House of Commons members were exposed as “indulging in old-style Spanish practices”, the shop steward simply had to go. Commentators, such as the BBC’s Nick Robinson - their one terrier in a team of political poodles - have used the “Spanish practices” phrase and it has been revived in the minds of the general public.

But it should now carry the different usage and meaning. The last time a Spanish Government lied to its citizenry – “ETA blew up commuter trains in Madrid” - it was swept from office within weeks.

That’s one “Spanish practice” that could be useful in ridding Britain of the failed McBroons and their poor governance, ongoing spin, failed fiscal policy and downright dishonesty. Over-50s in Britain remember clearly the benefits of renewal process started by the incoming Thatcher government... they’d like to see similar sooner rather than later.

Meantime, they are becoming more aquainted with the practice of buying property in Spain, cashing in on that country’s recessional woes, such as Spanish bank repossessions and other distressed sales. Over-50s reckon spending more time out of Britain might be better for their health, welfare and wallet.

26 May 2009

Brit over-50s bag Spanish bargains

The Spanish bit of the world recession may be easing – in contrast with the UK where the McBroon Government, slowly imploding amid expenses and other scandals, has failed to get a grip on economic matters.

The McBroons have been feathering their own nests and lining up nifty pensions for ministers and MPs while British families, the over-50s and pensioners feel the economic pinch and face the prospect of being highly taxed forever to repay the £750 billion debt mountain built up.

Those who are still able to do so are planning their futures on the basis that the McBroons have wrecked the British economy, will lose power and the Cameron Clan will still need a decade to clear-up the mess. The taxpayer, you might imagine, will be the biggest contributor…

Meanwhile in Spain, government action seems to be having a greater effect as the economic power driver, the property market, is becoming brisker. Buyers from Spain and northern Europe are taking advantage of the massive price falls and the many bargain Spanish bank repossessions.

1,000 sales a week is a lot better than the levels in the UK market and an increasing number of the buyers are Brit over-50s planning for their retirement and using savings to invest in a place in the sun sooner rather than later. Their families can enjoy holidays in a villa or apartment bought for a bargain price and then it can be used for part-time or fulltime living nearer or after retirement.

Leading Spanish property website, Kyero summed up the three latest reports on the local economy as follows:
  • Things are still getting worse
  • But they're getting worse more slowly than before
  • This means we're nearing the bottom of the curve
  • After reaching the bottom, the only way is up

Whether you prefer short term pessimism, long term optimism, says Kyero, the time is right for the EU to force Spain to repeal it’s “shoddy property laws” as this will help get the market back to normal much quicker.

Buying now would seem to be a good option and newly completed developments like Mojón Hills Resort in unspoilt Murcia offer unbeatable packages that include big discounts off current valuations, 90% mortgages and guaranteed rental deals for three years.

15 May 2009

Take a tax break in Spain...

The anger of the British public bubbled over when Housing Minister, Margaret Becket tried to defend herself, fellow ministers and MPs on television over the expenses scandal and again hours later when new figures showed housing repossessions were up 50% and mortgage arrears up 62% - despite the “help” provided the McBroon Government.

Yet another McBroon failed initiative as 1,000 families a week are turfed out of their homes as a result of banker greed and sheer incompetence of the McBroon Government. MPs handed millions for kitting out their second homes, while British families struggle to pay the mortgage in a recession caused by the McBroons.

British over-50s are thinking it’s time to get out as they realise they will be paying in increased taxes until Retirement Day. Also thinking of quitting are many of the wealth generators after the punishment handed out to them in the latest McBroon Budget:
  • New top rate of income tax at 50% for those earning over £150,000;
  • Loss of personal allowances for those earning over £100,000;
  • Levying a basic rate only relief on pension contributions over £150,000.
Former Labour Party contributor Tim Waterstone, described the 50p tax as a “spiteful political move” and heralded it as a “disincentive to entrepreneurs”. There are already reports of entrepreneurs announcing their plans to relocate to Switzerland, Monaco and the Isle of Man.

The international lawyer, Mark Wilkins has suggested Brit high earners might consider an even better lifestyle in Spain –“A country where the tax regime does not seem to be fuelled by the politics of envy. A country that is some three hours from office desk to home office, has exceptional road, transport and health infrastructure, some of the best golf courses on the planet, as much beach as you and your kids can dream of, schooling that sits head and shoulders above many of its UK Ofsted counterparts…”

He also points to an average of 325 days of sun a year and an average summer coastal temperature of 36 degrees, a current property market offering real value for money and an EU recognised initiative to ensure that previous planning uncertainties are a thing of the past.

Mark Wilkins outlines the tax position. “Spain has as its highest income tax rate – a 43% ceiling, applicable to earnings in excess of €53,407.

“Wealth tax has been effectively abolished in Spain and the personal allowances for all resident earners – regardless of earnings - vary from €8,551 for a joint declaration to a cumulative child allowance that rises with the 4th child to €4,182. Consequently, in addition to a saving on income tax of 7%, it seems in cash terms earning £150,000 and electing Spain as your tax residency may well leave you, under the current Spanish regime, materially better off."

If that is a lifestyle decision you want to investigate, start with Libertad, a tax break purchase method that helps keep family money in the family. The Sun newspaper reviewed Libertad in detail and the latest Spanish property bargains can be found online.

13 May 2009

Gov. boost for property in Spain

As the McBroons shed their crocodile tears over being found out on dodgy expenses and go on the telly waving repayment cheques to reconnect with the voters - so they are not X-outed at the next election - it’s clear that the head of the bandit clan himself is to blame for the fiasco.

McBroon was in charge of the economy for ten years and so-called in charge of the country for two years and the unspeakable Mick Martin was in charge of the House of Commons for this current Parliament allowing the buying spree of MPs. Brit taxpayers are suffering from the antics of this useless pair.

Another catalogue of fiscal failures to heap upon the many that have blighted Britain and surely to be followed by McBroon failure at future elections, starting with the European and local elections next month.

Unlike McBroon, who has failed to say “Sorry” for his ministerial failures, his equivalent, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero admitted that his government had erred in managing the country’s deepening recession. “It is obvious that the government made mistakes in its forecasts,” the socialist premier said during the annual parliamentary debate on the state of the nation.

Wow, words we have yet to hear on these shores?

But then Snr Zapatero, revealed, among a list of new economic stimuli, the removal of tax breaks on mortgages as a way of future control of the housing market, but effectively a great incentive for folks to rush out and buy now - before the threat becomes real in 2011.

Like McBroon, the Spaniard faces the electorate on 07 June with the EU elections and, as in the UK, serious consequences are likely. His other incentives included tax cuts to small and medium-size companies which maintained or increased employment, incentives to car purchases, measures to stimulate the property market, and cutting government spending by a billion euros.

Those measures can be helpful to over-50s British buyers of property in Spain, using the Libertad tax break and co-ownership deals on offer from leading specialists in the market and Spanish banks.

11 May 2009

Spanish property with no capital gains tax...

The McBroon Muppet Speaker, spent longer attacking the Daily Telegraph for revealing the House of Horrors expenses slapped in by MPs, than he did detailing plans to clean-out the stables. The supposedly “independent” blustering Michael Martin did find time to slag off two of the more honest MPs who tried in vain to influence his plans.

Over 50s, used to more gentlemanly times in the so-called Mother of Parliaments, might recall occasional scandals involving individual Members, but never, seemingly, anything involving so many snouts – including the high falutin’ Martin himself - in the trough. Avoiding capital gains, on second homes, as achieved by many MPs, is now available to property in Spain

The McBroons and Speaker Martin had planned to slip out censured details of MP’s expenses in the middle of the summer when families would be on their hard-earn holidays in Spain or focused on buying a place in the sun away from mired Britain.

But the Telegraph thought UK residents should know how they have been taken for a ride by their elected ones before the crucial local elections next month, so they could X-out any hopes the McBroons might have of saving their last handful of local councils or getting any more of their ilk onto the EU gravy train.

Only hours earlier the first “Sorries” were uttered by the party leaders, who again blamed the system, but neither suggested that the tax-payers should get their money back where dodgy deals were involved.

Meanwhile, more over-50s and pensioners, were deciding to explore the prospects for a bargain property purchase in Spain with an option for avoiding payment of any capital gains tax emulating the flipping MPs.

Yes, Brit buyers can legally avoid capital gain tax and inheritance tax on property in Spain if they buy through Libertad (Freedom) sponsored by the leading property specialists in Spain and Spanish banking partners.

8 May 2009

Brits go overboard for Spanish homes

It’s obvious the McBroon Government is imploding day by day as first the Ghurkhas stick the kukri knife in over the immigration botch-up, then the Daily Telegraph reveals the head of the McBroon clan himself – his talentless YouTube appearance now derided - paid nearly £7,000 to his brother for cleaning his flat.

Then we had the revelation the Mexican flu scare might be a scam to keep that country’s ruling elite in power… The gullible McBroons fell for that one too, preparing for Armageddon by teaching the world how to sneeze proper!

Sane and sensible Brits are convinced the McBroons mob are a mockery, failing on their promises, presiding over a busted Britain and steering the ship of state onto the rocks, where it may well remain for a decade while the citizens work to be taxed more so the £750 billion borrowings can be repaid.

Many Brits are abandoning ship, heading for sunnier shores like Spain.

If it was Mock the Week for the McBroons, it was all hands to the deck in the Spanish property market as Brits took advantage of flights costing as little as £26, including the taxes heaped-on by the McBroons to keep us safe as we shop our way through British airports on the way to the Easyjet or Ryanair plane.

Property sales were brisk along the main Costas as Brits and other northern Europeans queued to view the bargain homes on offer. One local estate agent reported sales running at two a day, up from one a month just a few months ago. One bargain, a golfside, fully furnished must sell 2-bed apartment, sold for £62,000 as five Brits battled to secure it.

Elsewhere, bayview, key ready villas in Puerto Mazarron, Murcia were on offer at £159,000 with 90% bank guaranteed mortgages and 3-year rental guarantees. That’s an offer with a lot of appeal to over-50s looking for a holiday home with fulltime living potential.

It is the over-50s and pensioners, suffering badly in the aftermath of the McBroon fiscal horror show, who can more easily take advantage of the property downturn, bag a bargain and make the move to sunny Spain. More of them have this week, and there'll be more from now on...

1 May 2009

IMF report boosts Spanish property

The IMF’s latest verdict on the Spanish economy, which is overall better than the one it presented on the state of the UK, suggests there will be recovery in 2010 after a decline of three percent in GDP this year.

That’s good news, as is the information that housing starts are down 20 percent, and that many of the empty, newly completed homes could well finish up in the rental sector because the Spanish Government is offering young couples a useful rent subsidy.

Take away the housing surplus, and demand – more than 300,000 sales a year currently - should begin to drive up prices again to the benefit of existing owners and those planning to purchase a property in Spain this year. Current prices are 30-40 percent below the peak and are unlikely to fall much further because sales are getting brisker at the present level.

Would-be buyers, hanging on in the hope of cheaper prices, may just be a mite disappointed. “Cheap” means “cheap” and rarely reflects the premium aspects of a property which are location, location, location. “Cheap” away from amenities like beaches, decent restaurants, good access to transport, remains just “cheap”.

Conversely “good value” would be a price paid for a property that was well-built and came with all the attributes that would benefit the new owner and help them to sell it when necessary. “Buy to sell” is the mantra of US realtors, and they are the best in the world.

It is currently possible to marry “good value” with a “good deal” in the Spanish real estate sector, as developers come under the cosh from their development funding banks. They are being innovative in their new beefed-up marketing activities.

One of the leading established property sources in Spain has offers that include “try before you buy”, 90 percent mortgages, 3-year rental guarantees, 40 percent discounts, purchase in sterling, view trip cashback vouchers, legal security paperwork etc.

Unlike many in the property boom years, these deals are often underwritten by the very bank putting the pressure on the builder/developer to generate the cash to finance their loan.

Working together in that way adds a lot of credibility to the offers and an incentive to book one of the summer flight bargains from Ryanair or Easyjet and for buyers to see for themselves what great value for money they can bag for themselves in the New Spanish Property Market.

They might find, as the IMF did, that life's looking a lot better in sunny Spain.